You have almost unlimited options for wedding venues in France. From a beautiful castle in the Loire Valley to a luxurious mansion in the French Riviera, you will have a large choice. You, then have to choose a venue that is perfect for you and for your dream wedding.
So, here are a few pieces of advice to help you choose your perfect wedding venue in France.
The wedding style
When looking at wedding venues in France, you will find really different styles like castles, ranches, abbeys, or mas surrounded by lavender fields.
So, the first thing you should consider is: “What is the global style and atmosphere of my wedding?”
For example, if you want a really modern wedding, you maybe won’t choose a traditional castle.
It is really important to look at the big picture and to make sure that the venue you choose will totally fit in the global image you have for your wedding.
Venue accessibility
For a destination wedding
Your guests might come from far for your wedding. So, when looking at wedding venues in France, looking at the venues’ accessibility should be one of the top priorities.
If you organize a destination wedding, first have a look at the airports. Will your guests have direct flights? And how long will the flights be?
For example, if you and your guests live in New York and you want to get married in Paris, you will have a lot of direct flights every day. But if you want to get married in the middle of Burgundy, you might not find any direct flight. So, this is a point to consider when looking for your perfect venue.
Then, when looking at the venues, check the distance from the airport to the venues. After a long flight, it might be difficult for your guests to have 2 hours of transports to arrive at the venue you selected.
Also, if you’re wondering what is a destination wedding, here is a blog post explaining everything you need to know.
For a regular wedding
If it’s not a destination wedding, it is still important to look at the venue’s accessibility.
You might not have to look at the flight length, but you need to consider the distance between where you and your guests live and the venues. It might be difficult for some of your guests to drive for 2 hours to arrive at your wedding venue. So, it is an important point to consider if you want all your loved ones to be there for you on your special day.
Below is an example of a wedding venue in Paris.
Number of guests
This is a simple point, but it is really important to consider the number of guests at your wedding when looking at venues if you don’t want to be disappointed.
So, you need to know approximatively the number of guests before starting to look for venues.
Also, the weather might be a bit inconsistent in some parts of France. So, if you want to get married outside, always ask for the inside capacity or the wedding tent possibility just to make sure that you have a good plan B in case of rain.
Keep your budget in mind
When looking at wedding venues in France, it is important to keep your budget in mind. France has a lot of luxurious and extravagant venues for weddings. So, it is really important to ask for the price first and to look at what is included in it.
Also, do know that not all French regions are equal for wedding venues price. For example, wedding venues on the French Riviera are known as really expensive venues in general.
The regions of wedding venues in France
As explained previously, each region has its own specificities, advantages, and disadvantages.
A wedding in Provence will enable you to have great weather with a dreamy landscape over lavender fields.
A wedding next to Paris will be easy to access and will enable you and your guests to have a lot of activities available.
A wedding in the French Riviera is great if you want to be next to the sea and if you are looking for luxurious wedding venues.
A wedding in the French Alps is perfect for a winter wedding surrounded by snow and mountains.
Also, the south of France will have beautiful weather for more than just the summer. Whereas, in Paris, the weather is not always great.
So, as we just saw, France has so many different regions that are so different.
Therefore, when looking at venues, consider first in which region you would like to celebrate your wedding. Because if you spend several days celebrating with your guests, your wedding won’t be only happening in the venue but also outside. An example is if you want to plan some activities with them.
Wedding activities
If you come to France for a destination wedding, you might not stay for just one day. Then you might want to plan some activities for you and your guests.
So, when looking at wedding venues in France, also consider the possible activities for each venue.
The venue in itself might offer some activities for their guests. But also consider what the region has to offer.
For example, if you love going to the sea then you might consider the French Riviera for your wedding.
If you want a big city with beautiful architecture and lots of museums and cultural events, you might prefer Paris.
If you plan to have a destination wedding, it is a great idea to see it as an experience with your guests where you will share some great memories.
Flexibility of the venue
The decoration
You might already have a precise idea of the decoration you want for your wedding. In this case, this point is important for you.
It is quite common to find venues that already have their own decoration such as table, chairs, linens, tableware… In this case, they might disagree if you want to bring your own decoration or if you want to have a wedding designer. So, this is something that you need to ask the different venues you will consider for your wedding.
Imposed vendors from wedding venues in France
Sometimes, you might see venues where some vendors are imposed. This is quite common for caterers for example. The venue might tell you that it only works with a particular vendor and if you want this venue you will have to choose this vendor. So, once again when looking at different venues, ask them if they have imposed vendors.
Characteristics of the venue
Technical points
A lot of beautiful wedding venues in France are quite old such as castles for example. So, they are sometimes not perfectly adapted for hosting big events such as weddings.
Therefore, it is quite common to find a beautiful castle that would be perfect for your dream wedding and then discover that the electric power is not strong enough if you want the DJ to play at the same time that the oven is turned on.
So, the first technical point you have to ask venues is electric power.
Then, a second point to consider is the available space to park cars. This is a simple point, but a lot of venues will announce a guest capacity that will not match the available space to park cars. This is definitely a problem because you want all your guests to be able to park easily.
Rental length
The length of the rental of wedding venues is really different from one venue to another. So, here are a few points to consider:
– Until what time can you party at night? When should you stop the music? And can you pay for extra hours?
– If you need to set up the decoration by yourself, when will the venue be available? Can you come the day before the wedding?
– Do they offer weekly rentals for a destination wedding for example?
– Is there only one event at a time in the venue?
It is really important to talk about these points with the venues you consider for your wedding because you might find out that some of the venues don’t match your expectations and your timeline at all.
Accommodations availability at wedding venues in France
If your guests come from far for your special day or if you want them to be able to party all night long, it is important to check if the venue offers some accommodations. If it is not the case, look at the accommodations nearby. Really not all wedding venues in France have onsite accommodations so this should be one of the first points you should consider when looking at wedding venues in France.
Also, your guests might drink some alcohol at your wedding party. So, the best option is to make sure that there is enough accommodation for everyone nearby and that no one has to take his car at the end of the night.
Take a wedding planner to find the perfect wedding venues in France
If you are looking at wedding venues in France a wedding planner will first save you a lot of time but will also make you benefit from their local knowledge.
The wedding planner will make a selection of venues for you depending on the dream wedding you picture and will also check all the technical points to make sure that the venues match your needs.
As they do have local knowledge, they will be able to tell you the specificities of the different regions and the activities available for you and your guests.
So, taking a wedding planner does not only save you time, but it also offers you more possibilities and makes you able to fully enjoy this precious time with your loved ones.
If you are looking for a destination wedding planner, do not hesitate to look at our services! We can also help you find beautiful wedding venues in France for your destination wedding.
So, I hope this article will help you choose your wedding venue in France.
If you already chose your venue, what were your selection criteria?
