Real wedding: Megan and Luke’s fairytale wedding at Château la Durantie
Wedding film in the Dordogne, France
Megan and Luke’s wedding at the stunning Château la Durantie in Dordogne was a true fairytale brought to life. As their destination wedding videographer, I set out to capture not only the beauty of the château and the celebrations, but also the emotion and story at the heart of their day, and the feeling of being surrounded by elegance, history, and love. A château wedding in France has a natural grandeur, and Château la Durantie provided the perfect backdrop for their story to unfold.
Megan and Luke’s ceremony facing Chateau la Durantie
Destination wedding film
For every wedding, I bring a cinematic and thoughtful approach to filming. Inspired by the language of cinema, I consider each frame with care: the play of light across stone walls, the way fabric moves in the breeze, or the quiet glances between the couple when no one else is watching.
With Megan and Luke’s wedding, I wanted their film to be more than just a record of the day. It needed to capture the feeling of it. By focusing on storytelling, composition, and atmosphere, I created a film that reflects not only what their day looked like, but also what it felt like to be there.
Megan and Luke in front of Chateau la Durantie
I believe the venue plays a vital role in shaping a wedding film. At Château la Durantie, grandeur meets intimacy, and my role as a videographer is to balance these elements, ensuring the film feels expansive and timeless, while also deeply personal. By weaving the architecture, the landscape, and the emotion of the day into one narrative, I aim to create wedding films that feel like living memories, as visually beautiful as they are emotionally resonant.
I carefully chose angles that highlighted the château’s architecture, using wide shots to let its elegance take centre stage, while interweaving closer, more intimate moments between the couple and their guests.
Château la Durantie from the sky
Château la Durantie is an extraordinary venue for a château wedding in France, combining historic elegance with the natural beauty of Dordogne. For couples dreaming of a destination wedding, it offers a setting that feels cinematic from the very first moment.
As an international wedding filmmaker in France, it is a privilege to work in such inspiring locations and to create films that are not only beautiful to watch, but that capture the essence of a couple’s story and the spirit of the place in which it unfolds.
Megan and Luke’s wedding day at Château la Durantie was filled with love, elegance, and joy, and I feel honoured to have crafted a film that preserves it all.
The bride and groom during golden hour in Dordogne
A Three-Day Celebration at Château la Durantie
One of the most wonderful things about destination weddings in France is that they so often extend beyond a single day. Megan and Luke’s wedding at Château la Durantie was a three-day celebration, giving family and friends the chance to savour every moment together in the Dordogne.
The Welcome Dinner: The festivities began with a warm and intimate welcome dinner on the château grounds. Guests gathered under the summer evening sky, sharing stories and laughter as anticipation built for the day ahead.
The Wedding Day: The heart of the celebration was, of course, the wedding itself, which took place under the rain. From the elegant ceremony in the gardens to the spectacular fireworks display at night, this was a day filled with beauty, emotion, and unforgettable moments.
The Pool Party: The final day was a relaxed and joyful poolside gathering, where everyone could unwind after the excitement of the wedding. With music, sunshine (finally!), and laughter echoing through the château gardens, it was the perfect conclusion to a truly memorable weekend.
By filming across all three days, I was able to create a wedding film that feels complete — not just a record of the ceremony, but a full portrait of Megan and Luke’s celebration, their friends and family, and the atmosphere of joy that filled Château la Durantie from start to finish.
Megan and Luke’s Pool Party
Fireworks on the evening of their wedding
The wedding
The morning at Château la Durantie began under grey skies, with rain falling steadily across the Dordogne countryside. Inside the château, however, there was warmth and excitement. Megan and her bridesmaids prepared in one of the château’s elegant suites, surrounded by laughter, music, and a touch of nervous anticipation. Meanwhile, Luke and his groomsmen shared their own quiet moments in another part of the château.
Luke putting on his bow tie
Luke’s preparation on the morning of the wedding
Megan’s bridal preparation
The bride before her wedding ceremony
The rain added a certain intimacy to the atmosphere, with windows streaked with droplets, soft light filtering through the clouds, and a sense of calm before the storm of celebration to come. These details became part of the visual storytelling, setting a moody, cinematic tone that made the morning feel even more poignant.
Megan’s evening dress
As the ceremony approached, the rain lingered, and the question hung in the air: could the outdoor celebration still go ahead? Many might have chosen to move everything indoors, but Megan, with her characteristic bravery and joy, decided to embrace the weather and keep the ceremony in the château’s gardens.
Guests arriving for ceremony
Guests during the ceremony
It was a powerful choice — and one that created some of the most unforgettable images of the day. Megan walking down the aisle in the rain, her dress flowing and droplets catching the light, was a moment that felt straight out of a film. Guests gathered beneath umbrellas, their faces glowing with emotion as they watched the rain-soaked ceremony, the château standing tall behind them.
Megan walking down the aisle under the rain
The rain didn’t dampen the mood; it amplified it. There was a rawness, a realness, that made the ceremony incredibly moving. Filming the umbrellas, the glistening reflections on the grass, and the couple exchanging vows despite the weather created a sequence that felt deeply atmospheric and timeless.
Megan and Luke’s first kiss
By the evening, the rain had eased, and Château la Durantie became alive with music, dancing, and joy. Guests celebrated under the château’s golden lights, the earlier storm giving way to a night filled with warmth and energy.
Megan and Luke’s champagne tower
The highlight came with the spectacular fireworks display, which lit up the night sky above the château. I captured this both in sweeping drone shots - showing the fireworks bursting over the grand silhouette of Château la Durantie - and in intimate handheld frames of Megan and Luke watching in awe. After a day that had begun in rain and uncertainty, the night ended in pure magic.
Megan and Luke sharing an intimate moment during fireworks display
Capturing the essence
A wedding at Château la Durantie isn’t just about the events of the day. It’s about the mood, the atmosphere, and the moments that linger long after the celebrations end. Rain-dappled gardens, umbrellas held by laughing guests, the soft golden light of evening reflecting on stone walls: these are the details that give a wedding film its texture and soul.
Megan and Luke’s couple portraits
For Megan and Luke, every frame was composed with care, each angle chosen to let the château itself breathe within the story. The contrast of grandeur and intimacy, and the natural flow of emotion all combined to create a film that feels less like documentation and more like poetry in motion.
In the end, it’s not just about what happened, but how it feels. A wedding film like this becomes a living memory, a cinematic journey that can be revisited again and again, capturing not just a day, but the very essence of love and place.
If you’re planning a destination wedding in France and want your story told with the same care and intention, I’d love to hear from you.