Well, after nearly 10 years together it finally happened… It was one of the most beautiful days of our lives, both figuratively and literally, and after experiencing rain showers the first day and overcast skies the second, the sun shone brightly down upon us today.
Early in the morning Dani went down and bought her third set of make-up (third time’s the charm!) and flowers for the bouquets & boutonnières. Meanwhile, back at the guy’s room, we took our time getting ready and had some fun taking photos, as you’ll see. Promptly at 11:30 our wedding planner Miguel picked Shane and I up and we headed out to the Royal Abbey of Chaalis, about a 40-minute ride from the city. Having some time to kill before the girls arrived, we took the liberty to tour the grounds and capture as many pictures as possible. The grounds consist of the ruins of a 13th century abbey church, Chapel of Saint Mary, rose garden and the Chateau/Museum. I can honestly say this is one of the most amazing places I’ve ever experienced. Back at the girls’ room the photographer was busy taking photos of their preparation. Once ready, they jumped into the limo and headed towards Chaalis nearly an hour late, which Miguel assured me was ‘tradition’ in France (yeah right…).
As we saw the limo pull through the gates everyone got into place for the ceremony to begin. I took my place up near the altar with Miguel (also our officiant) inside of the Chapel. On queue, the cellist and violinist started into a traditional French song while Lucia made her way down the aisle followed by Danielle accompanied by Shane. This was the only point during the ceremony when I almost lost it, but I managed to stay composed while I took her hand and sat down to begin our nuptials. A few words, a few songs, a few ‘I Dos’ and a kiss later we were now standing there for the first time as husband and wife. We took in the moment a second longer before scurrying out of the Chapel to take photos around the grounds.
To our surprise, the four of us received a very personal tour of the Chateau/Museum from the manager of the property, Jean-Marc, who also lives there! We actually were lucky enough to go beyond the red ropes of the museum to enjoy our champagne toast INSIDE the drawing room!! Danielle took some amazing photos laying on the chase sofa originally owned by Nelie Jacquemart, the most recent owner of the Chateau who purchased it in 1902. After the toast we continued our tour and learned the rich history of how the abbey came to be, I could go on and on about all we learned but will save that for a face-to-face conversation. It was time to leave the beautiful abbey and head back towards the city for a few more photos and dinner.
Our first, and very public, stop was on Pont Alexandre III, one of the most elegant bridges in Paris. Crowds gathered as we posed for photos with the Seine and Eiffel Tower at our backs. It was nearing sun down which made for a perfect setting on our perfect day. With the last few photos taken we bid farewell to Dominique (our photographer) and headed towards the Eiffel Tower where dinner reservations awaited us at the famous Jules Verne. We enjoyed the views and food on the second level of the tower while reflecting on the day’s events. 6 courses and nearly 3 hours later we were finished with dinner and headed back down to stroll around the base. We grabbed a quick cappuccino before jumping into a taxi and heading in for the night…
We’ll have plenty more stories & pictures to share once we return home and get the photos from the professional. For now, I hope this summary and the photos we captured will hold you over. I’m still learning to use my new camera so sorry for all the random shots…
Early in the morning Dani went down and bought her third set of make-up (third time’s the charm!) and flowers for the bouquets & boutonnières. Meanwhile, back at the guy’s room, we took our time getting ready and had some fun taking photos, as you’ll see. Promptly at 11:30 our wedding planner Miguel picked Shane and I up and we headed out to the Royal Abbey of Chaalis, about a 40-minute ride from the city. Having some time to kill before the girls arrived, we took the liberty to tour the grounds and capture as many pictures as possible. The grounds consist of the ruins of a 13th century abbey church, Chapel of Saint Mary, rose garden and the Chateau/Museum. I can honestly say this is one of the most amazing places I’ve ever experienced. Back at the girls’ room the photographer was busy taking photos of their preparation. Once ready, they jumped into the limo and headed towards Chaalis nearly an hour late, which Miguel assured me was ‘tradition’ in France (yeah right…).
As we saw the limo pull through the gates everyone got into place for the ceremony to begin. I took my place up near the altar with Miguel (also our officiant) inside of the Chapel. On queue, the cellist and violinist started into a traditional French song while Lucia made her way down the aisle followed by Danielle accompanied by Shane. This was the only point during the ceremony when I almost lost it, but I managed to stay composed while I took her hand and sat down to begin our nuptials. A few words, a few songs, a few ‘I Dos’ and a kiss later we were now standing there for the first time as husband and wife. We took in the moment a second longer before scurrying out of the Chapel to take photos around the grounds.
To our surprise, the four of us received a very personal tour of the Chateau/Museum from the manager of the property, Jean-Marc, who also lives there! We actually were lucky enough to go beyond the red ropes of the museum to enjoy our champagne toast INSIDE the drawing room!! Danielle took some amazing photos laying on the chase sofa originally owned by Nelie Jacquemart, the most recent owner of the Chateau who purchased it in 1902. After the toast we continued our tour and learned the rich history of how the abbey came to be, I could go on and on about all we learned but will save that for a face-to-face conversation. It was time to leave the beautiful abbey and head back towards the city for a few more photos and dinner.
Our first, and very public, stop was on Pont Alexandre III, one of the most elegant bridges in Paris. Crowds gathered as we posed for photos with the Seine and Eiffel Tower at our backs. It was nearing sun down which made for a perfect setting on our perfect day. With the last few photos taken we bid farewell to Dominique (our photographer) and headed towards the Eiffel Tower where dinner reservations awaited us at the famous Jules Verne. We enjoyed the views and food on the second level of the tower while reflecting on the day’s events. 6 courses and nearly 3 hours later we were finished with dinner and headed back down to stroll around the base. We grabbed a quick cappuccino before jumping into a taxi and heading in for the night…
We’ll have plenty more stories & pictures to share once we return home and get the photos from the professional. For now, I hope this summary and the photos we captured will hold you over. I’m still learning to use my new camera so sorry for all the random shots…
Click HERE to see the photos.
A HUGE thanks goes to the following people who made our big day truly memorable:
Miguel Drudis (wedding planner) Golden Star Events
Dominique Cabrelli (photographer) Studio Cabrelli
Jean-Marc Vasseur (head of Chaalis) Royal Abbey
-Matt
A HUGE thanks goes to the following people who made our big day truly memorable:
Miguel Drudis (wedding planner) Golden Star Events
Dominique Cabrelli (photographer) Studio Cabrelli
Jean-Marc Vasseur (head of Chaalis) Royal Abbey
-Matt
5 comments:
Congratulations Matt and Dani! Wishing you much happiness. Thank you for sharing the memories.
I hope you enjoy Bruges as much as we did.
Cheers,
Amy
Congrats you sexy couple, have a great trip and best of luck in all your ventures.
Chris and Heather
congrats guys. love the pics you guys look so cute. i need more of the girls though. i wanna see the dresses... please :( wish i was there with you. love you lots have fun and call when you can please
-Josie
Wow - it finally happened. Congratulations to both of you. Matt you sure looked handsome, wish you had posted pics of Danielle in her dress. Hope to see some of the two of you soon. Looks like it was the perfect day. I Love You Mom
Congratulations you two! May you be blessed with many years of happiness.
Colleen
(your curling buddy from da burgh)
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