An Elopement in the French Countryside — Chatte, France

There are destinations and then there is the French countryside. There is something about the Isère valley — the way late afternoon light settles over stone farmhouses, unhurried and warm — that makes everything feel like it's been beautiful for centuries.

The Day

Chatte is a small commune in southeastern France, green hillsides rolling above the Isère valley. The day began with a legal ceremony at the village mairie, then everyone — around sixty guests from across France and the United States — made their way to a country house just outside town for speeches, portraits, and the reception.

The Game

The bride stood at the front and called out an item — a man's necktie. Fifteen guests scrambled. Ties were unknotted mid-sprint, negotiations broke out across tables, and the last person to deliver was eliminated. Chaotic, hilarious, and deeply French in its competitive elegance. Some of the best candid frames I've ever captured came from those fifteen minutes.

After that, the evening opened into a proper fête — chants of vive la mariée ringing through the room, real singing at the tables that carried into dancing, shoes off, generations mixing on the floor, no one leaving early.

Working Abroad

If you're planning something intimate in France or anywhere abroad, I'd love to hear about it.