If you’ve ever wondered about a dreamy French fairytale wedding, then this is the one to imagine. Melbourne-based couple Carl and Daniel chose the magnificent Château de Gudanes in the French Pyrenees as the venue for their four-day destination wedding.
Their guests received a warm invitation to join them in the extraordinary celebration spanning multiple days at the unforgettable Château.
Surrounded by lush valleys and majestic mountains, this enchanting Château has a rich history. It once hosted extravagant 18th-century events that welcomed esteemed figures including renowned writer Voltaire.
The Invitations
We were deeply honoured to have been entrusted with the task of creating the invitations for Carl & Daniel’s remarkable four-day destination wedding. After consultation, it was decided that it would be a multiple-card suite with the following cards:
- The save the date/invitation
- A card with brief details of the wedding plan
- Arrangements details about transport and accommodation
- Friday activities for Day One of the wedding
- Saturday activities for Day Two of the wedding
- Sunday activities for Day Three of the wedding
- Monday activities for Day Four of the wedding
- Thank you card
An essential aspect of the request was to maintain the utmost secrecy regarding the wedding’s location. The couple envisioned a delightful surprise for their cherished guests, wanting to reveal the Château only upon their arrival.
So, the challenge was to create a cohesive 8-card set that would be both informational and a keepsake.
We kept the design of the invitations very minimal and focused on the idea of depicting the beautiful flowers surrounding the Château. We intentionally designed the invitations to be discreet but also subtly hinting at the location.
We used MOO to print the invitations as A6 cards, which turned out to be the perfect paper size and texture for this occasion.
The First Three Cards
A year prior to the wedding, guests received the initial main invitation and two information cards. We put a band around the cards that said, “We kindly request that you accompany these cards to France.” We made sure that the information cards didn’t give away too much details about the venue. Please note that we’ve redacted some parts of the text for privacy.
The Second Set of Cards
Upon guest arrival at the Château, four additional cards were distributed, detailing the wedding long weekend plans. Each day had its own card with activities listed.
The Finishing Touches
Meanwhile, Carl & Daniel organised gorgeous gift boxes with gold foiling from Tiny Box Company to place the four cards in. They handed this out on the first day, along with bonbonnières, which were beautiful hand-picked antique treasures for each person. This box would become each guest’s keepsake to store the invitations and memories from the wedding.
On the final day, each guest received a printed photograph from the wedding to add to the keepsake box. A few months later, Carl and Daniel sent out the eighth and final card of the set, which was the thank you card.
This was one of the most exciting projects we’ve worked on and loved seeing the end result. The wedding photographers Essence de la Vie have kindly shared some beautiful pictures from the stunning day with us. You can see more of this wedding on their website.
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The Hello Bureau is a creative design studio in Perth, Australia specialising in wedding and event stationery. With over 10 years experience in the industry, we seek to share our knowledge to help you with your creative wedding and event stationery projects. If you’re interested in bespoke stationery for your wedding or event, please send us an enquiry.
