Delve into our FAQs below to find out more about getting married in France and French wedding venues in general. From the legalities to how much it costs to get married in France, we are here to help you get a better idea of what a French wedding entails.
Simply click on each question below to find out more…
The legal requirement is that at least one of you has to be resident in France for a minimum of 40 days continuously, immediately preceding the marriage. This must be in the town where the marriage is to take place.
That being said it is worth mentioning that in some very special cases, those with property or that have family with property in France have been allowed to marry without having to follow the residency requirement. However this is at the complete discretion of the Mairie so it can be worth contacting them directly.
What most couples do is sign the legal papers at the registrar of where they live prior to the marriage ceremony in France. Keep in mind though that for most of your guests the “real” wedding will be the one in France.
It is possible but remember that this will not have a legal value.
Depending on where you get married we can find a church for you, whether catholic or protestant. However, most Anglican couples prefer the option of getting married on site, for instance in the garden of the Chateau they have rented.
Of course you can organise your wedding as you want but here is a timeline example of a typical French wedding:
ceremony 4.30-5.30pm
reception drinks 6-8pm
Meal 8.30-10.30pm
First dance: 11pm
The partying can then follow on till 3am… some even longer!
Having no time constraints can be seen a big plus point to having your wedding in France. Finishing times may vary depending on the venue.
We will select a venue only if we think it offers a great service for weddings.
When we go and visit a venue, we look at every room and check if the layout is working for weddings. We also take into consideration the facilities (for instance the kitchen for the caterers, the electric power etc…). Finally we’ll include the venue in our selection if the price seems correct to us, and the owners are helpful and honest.
The sooner the better! If you plan to get married between May and September, we advise you to start your venue search a year and a half before your wedding date as popular venues get booked very quickly, sometimes two years in advance for the most popular!
We do love chateaux, from Renaissance ones to Medieval and Versailles like chateaux; but we also like characterful buildings such as typical farm houses or Provence style buildings. We also specialise in Glamping venues, which are more affordable but definitely have a wow factor.
The common point between all the venues we work with is that they all have soul and that certain je-ne-sais-quoi!
Of course! We love France and we believe each area has its own magic. Depending on who you are, where you live and what feel you both want for your wedding, we’ll be able to recommend you the best regions of France to get married.
To get an idea of the different areas in France please check out our regions page or you can contact us for some advice and a search tailored to you.
Absolutely! We’re very happy to say that all the venues in the Chateau Bee Selection are gay friendly.
Giving a ballpark figure can be hard as it very much depend on what venue you select and on what suppliers you choose. It will also depend on whether you can do a bit/all of the wedding planning by yourself or whether you need to hire someone for the full organisation. Finally you also need to factor in the time of year i.e. high season vs off season and shoulder season. That being said, we endeavour to find dream venues that can suit all tastes and budgets. So you’ll be able to find French wedding venues on our site where you can get married for under 25k euros for a weekend wedding with about 50 people. Whatever your vision and budget is, please do contact us and we’ll do our best to bring your vision to life!
