Getting Married in France: What to Know Before Planning Your Intimate Wedding
Planning an intimate wedding in France from abroad? Here's what we've learned from photographing and filming weddings across France and Europe — from navigating the language barrier to finding the right people and making the most of your wedding day.
There is a particular kind of wedding day we love: a beautiful place, a table full of good food, your favourite people, and enough time to actually enjoy being there.
Maybe you've been imagining a French château, a private house in Provence, or a small celebration somewhere surrounded by nature. You know the feeling you're after, even if you haven't figured out the details yet.
But planning a wedding in another country comes with a different set of questions. How do you find suppliers you can trust? Can you legally get married in France? Do you need a wedding planner? And when should you actually say your vows?
We've been documenting weddings and elopements across Europe since 2018. Here are a few things we'd want you to know before planning yours in France.
1. The right location is about more than the view
France has no shortage of beautiful places. The harder part is finding one that works for the kind of experience you want.
A château might look incredible online, but does it feel right for twenty people? Is there somewhere lovely to have dinner? Can your guests stay nearby? Will you spend half the day travelling between locations?
For an intimate wedding, these details matter more than you might expect. A private estate where everyone can stay together creates a very different experience from a venue where guests arrive for a few hours and leave again.
We also encourage couples to look beyond the most famous locations. Some of the best experiences come from places that aren't constantly appearing on Instagram. You might find the right atmosphere in a countryside property, a small village or a corner of France you hadn't initially considered.
Start with how you want to spend your day. The location should support that, not dictate it.
2. Can foreigners legally get married in France?
This is one of the first things to check before booking your venue.
If you're both foreign nationals living abroad, you generally cannot have a civil marriage at an ordinary town hall in mainland France simply because you've chosen France as your destination. French law has specific eligibility requirements, with certain exceptions depending on your circumstances.
Many international couples choose to complete their legal marriage at home and hold a symbolic ceremony in France. This gives them more freedom to choose a location, work with a celebrant and create a ceremony that reflects their relationship.
If getting legally married in France is important to you, check your eligibility and documentation requirements with the relevant French authorities before making non-refundable bookings.
You can start with the official French government guide to getting married in France.
3. The language barrier is real — but manageable
You can plan a wedding in France from abroad without speaking fluent French. However, don't assume every venue or supplier will communicate comfortably in English.
The challenge isn't always making a booking. It's understanding the details: what's included, how the schedule works, what happens if the weather changes, and who's responsible for what.
Before committing, make sure you can communicate clearly with the people you're hiring. Get important arrangements confirmed in writing, and don't be afraid to ask questions until everything makes sense.
This is also where working with experienced, English-speaking suppliers can make a genuine difference. You're not just paying for their work on the wedding day; you're choosing people who can help you feel informed and confident along the way.
4. Do you actually need a wedding planner?
Not every intimate wedding needs a full-service planner. But planning from another country can make professional support particularly valuable.
If you're organising a multi-day celebration, bringing guests from several countries, or hiring a private estate with catering, transport and several moving parts, a planner can take a substantial amount off your shoulders.
If you're planning an elopement for two, with a simple ceremony and a few carefully chosen experiences, you may not need one at all.
The important thing is understanding what you're taking on yourself. A venue coordinator, for example, may manage arrangements at the property without organising your entire wedding.
And if you do hire a planner, choose someone whose communication style and approach fit yours. You'll be working together on decisions that matter to you, often from thousands of kilometres away.
5. Our timeline tip: consider a late-afternoon ceremony
One detail we often discuss with couples is ceremony timing. For many summer weddings in France, we recommend considering a late-afternoon ceremony.
French summer days can be wonderfully long, giving you plenty of flexibility when planning your celebration. Depending on the region and time of year, afternoons can also be quite warm, so it's worth thinking about the comfort of you and your guests, as well as the light for your photographs.
Around midday or early afternoon, the sun is often at its strongest, creating more pronounced shadows and brighter highlights in photographs. Later in the afternoon, the light can become softer and more flattering, creating a beautiful atmosphere for your ceremony and portraits.
A later ceremony can also lead naturally into an evening of good food, conversation and time with your favourite people, without feeling as though everything needs to happen at once.
Of course, the ideal timing depends on the season, location, weather and sunset. We'll always consider these details when helping couples plan their photography and film timeline.
Our advice? Give yourselves the flexibility to enjoy the day at a comfortable pace, while making the most of the light and the setting you've chosen.
6. Finding the right vendors is about more than their portfolios
When you're researching suppliers online, almost everyone looks good in photographs. It's harder to know what working with them will actually be like.
Do they understand the kind of celebration you're planning? Are they responsive? Can they work together? Do they know the location and understand the practicalities of the day?
After years in the wedding industry, we've built relationships with vendors in different destinations and have a clearer sense of what to look for. Depending on your plans and location, we're happy to help point you towards suitable suppliers, whether you're looking for a celebrant, florist, hair and makeup artist or other local professionals.
We're photographers and filmmakers, not wedding planners, so we won't pretend to organise every part of your wedding. But we know how much the right team can contribute to the experience.
And when your suppliers understand the same vision, everything has a better chance of coming together naturally.
7. Leave room for the parts you can't plan
This is something we feel strongly about, especially with intimate weddings and elopements.
It's tempting to fill the day with beautiful locations, carefully timed activities and a long list of photographs you want to recreate. But the more you try to fit in, the less time you may have to enjoy the experience itself.
A slower morning. An unhurried lunch. A walk somewhere beautiful. More time with your guests instead of rushing to the next location.
These aren't empty spaces in your timeline. They're part of the story.
Our approach to photography and filmmaking is documentary-driven, with a cinematic perspective and our signature retro colours. We want to capture the way the day unfolds naturally, while helping you make thoughtful decisions about light, timing and locations when they matter.
You shouldn't have to spend your wedding performing for the camera. You should have room to be there.
LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION FOR YOUR INTIMATE WEDDING IN FRANCE?
Sometimes, seeing how another couple's day came together makes it easier to imagine your own.
Explore our intimate wedding galleries in France to see real celebrations, the locations couples chose, and how their days unfolded — from the ceremony to the quieter moments in between.
Planning your intimate wedding in France?
You might already have a venue booked, or you might simply know that you want something personal, somewhere in France, with the right people around you.
We're Theeda and Clovis, a France-based photography and filmmaking duo documenting intimate weddings and elopements across France and Europe. We work together to tell the story of your day through photographs and cinematic films, with a focus on real moments, thoughtful locations and celebrations that feel like you.
Tell us a little about what you're imagining, where you're thinking of getting married, and when. We can also help you think through photography timelines and point you towards suitable local vendors when needed.