Ellie & Max's Wedding at Château de la Durantie, South West France

Mar 5

3 min read

Updated: 6 days ago

Wedding party in white and navy walks outside Château de la Durantie, South West France , bride and groom waving under sunny sky.

Relaxed, documentary wedding photography in the Dordogne

I've been photographing weddings at Château de la Durantie for over ten years now, and I'll let you into a secret, I still get that little jolt when I come up the drive. You'd think familiarity would take the shine off it. It really doesn't, I arrive I think, right, here we go again and also how luck am I.

Groom twirls bride in white gown on a gravel path before Château de la Durantie, South West France at sunset, glowing with warm light.

Bride and groom walk hand in hand on a gravel path before Château de la Durantie, South West France, backlit in black-and-white wedding portrait.

It's also why I love shooting here. Ten years of weddings means I know exactly where the sun lands at gold o'clock, which corner of the grounds is worth a two-minute wander for portraits, and where everyone will inevitably end up when the party gets going.

Bride in a long white gown stands at an open window in a patterned vintage room at Château de la Durantie, South West France backlit by daylight.

A wedding party made of best mates

Ellie and Max did something I always love to see, they didn't agonise over the etiquette of who's traditionally allowed to stand where. They simply gathered up their favourite people, and put them all in the wedding party.

The effect on the day was immediate. There's a particular energy that comes from a group of people who genuinely know each other, and it doesn't need any encouragement from me. Nobody was waiting to be told what to do. There was a running joke I never fully got to the bottom of. Somebody's speech went sideways in the best possible way. And getting-ready in the morning felt less like a formal event and more like the tail end of a very good weekend away which, in fairness, is exactly what it was.

Black-and-white wedding party poses outdoors at Château de la Durantie, South West France , bride and groom centered, surrounded by smiling bridesmaids and groomsmen with bouquets.

Bride and seven bridesmaids in cream dresses pose in an ornate white-and-gold salon at Château de la Durantie, South West France with chandeliers and portrait paintings.

Black-and-white group of groomsmen sitting on stone steps at Château de la Durantie, South West France outside ornate doors, chatting and laughing before a wedding

Bride descends an ornate staircase at Château de la Durantie, South West France with bridesmaids carrying her long veil in a grand mansion, bouquets in hand.

My style is documentary and personality led, which is a slightly fancy way of saying I stay out of the way, I pay attention, and I photograph what's really happening.

I'm not going to spend forty-five minutes posing you. I'm not going to ask you to gaze meaningfully into the middle distance, and I'm definitely not going to make you do that thing where you both pretend to laugh at nothing.

What you'll get instead is a set of photographs that look and feel like your day actually felt. Your mum crying before she'd even got out of the car. Your best mate's face during the vows. The bit at 1am on the terrace when the good shoes came off. Real things, photographed properly.

I do take a bit of time for couple portraits, because you'll want them but it's a relaxed twenty minutes with a walk and a drink in hand, not a photoshoot. Most couples tell me it ends up being one of the few quiet moments they get all day.

Black-and-white wedding portrait of a smiling groom in a suit and sunglasses beside a laughing bride in a white gown holding flowers outside Château de la Durantie, South West France.

Bride in white gown and groom in suit stand in ornate doorway at Château de la Durantie, South West France beside wedding sign for Ellie + Max.

Black-and-white wedding couple holding hands on steps outside , Château de la Durantie, South West France groom in dark suit and bride in flowing white gown.

Smiling couple in formal wear and sunglasses pose before a blooming pink flower bush in a sunny garden at Château de la Durantie, South West France.

Black-and-white bride in a long gown and veil walks up a grand staircase in a mansion atChâteau de la Durantie, South West France , lit by window light.

Black-and-white wedding couple descends ornate mansion staircase atChâteau de la Durantie, South West France , holding hands and smiling, with portraits and chandelier.

Black-and-white wedding party walks outdoors Château de la Durantie, South West France, bride holding bouquet beside groom, attendants behind.

Smiling bride in a white gown and long veil walks on a gravel path at Château de la Durantie, South West France, holding a bouquet in a sunny garden.

Why Château de la Durantie works so well

For UK couples planning a destination wedding in South West France, this venue does a lot of heavy lifting. It photographs beautifully in almost any light, it gives you proper château grandeur without feeling stiff, and the grounds mean your guests can spread out and settle in. It's the kind of place where people arrive on the Friday, get comfortable, and by Sunday nobody wants to go home.

Planning your own South West France wedding?

I've spent around twenty years photographing weddings, and the last stretch of those in this beautiful corner of France.

If you're planning a château wedding here and you want photographs that are warm, honest and a bit funny rather than stiff and staged I'd love to hear about your day.

Get in touch and tell me about your plans.

Ellie and Max were married at Château de la Durantie in South West France. Photography by Lydia Taylor Jones — destination wedding photographer based in the Dordogne.