Wedding venues on the French Riviera and in Provence

A wedding venue is prepared before the day. That is true of every one where I work, and it is what these pages describe, from the photographer's side rather than the brochure's.

What gets scouted beforehand comes down to three things. Access first: the last few kilometres and the entrances to a property are rarely the quickest, and an arrival that has not been anticipated eats into the reportage. Then moving around inside, because an estate is crossed on foot, with equipment, and the distance between the ceremony and the drinks reception is counted in real minutes. And the light, which changes completely from one end of the same estate to the other and according to the hour: a courtyard at midday and that same courtyard at seven in the evening are two different places.

That scouting happens before the wedding, so that on the day there is nothing left to think about. It is the invisible part of the work, and it is what leaves room for everything else.

Five Monaco venues and five Riviera venues are also gathered on two pages, the best destination wedding venues in Monaco and in the French Riviera.

The pages below carry the detail of each venue. They say what the ground imposes, never what the venue offers: conditions, hours and capacities belong to the estate, they change, and it is for the estate to give them.