The wedding day.

Woke up bright and early for hair since the makeup artist needs some time to doll everyone up. The bride hired a local makeup artist by the name of Laura who lived 30 minutes away from the place and by the time the artist was done with the bride, it’s time for lunch

Pre-lunch drinks

Lunch was a simple affair in preparation for a lavish dinner later in the evening

Roasted Potatoes Salad

Salmon with more Potatoes

Brie Baguette

A toast to remember

The bridesmaids

Getting ready

Waiting for the groom’s arrival

As per tradition, we decided to do an impromptu gatecrashing even though the bride didn’t really want it. But we are not sisters if there isn’t one. ha

The second look

Walk-in was done at the lawn. Love the blooms that the chateau had put together

And of course, we took lots of photos to entertain ourselves

The bride with the dad

And her sister, who was moved to tears and moved everyone else to tears

Moved on to the terrace for the start of the celebratory dinner, where we were stuffed with canapés and champagne. The place must have a list of canapés recipes for we never see the same one and all of them tasted absolutely amazing

Never ending fill of champagne

Chilled Soup

Croquettes

Cherry Tomatoes with Brie

Caramelised Onions with Goat Cheese

Tuna with Wasabi Mayo

Toast with Grilled Bacon

Steak Tartare

This was my favourite of the lot and the staffs were so sweet to keep it for us just cos we were not around when they were giving these out

Oysters and Sausages

Seared Scallops

Which took a really long time to come, but it was worth the wait nevertheless

Dinner under a tree

Simple, fitting, classy

Home Cured Salmon with Root Vegetables, Soft Boiled Quail Egg and Horseradish Creme Fraiche

Chargrilled Fillet of Beef with Cauliflower Puree, Braised Shallot, Fondant Potato, Crispy Pancetta, Kale and Foie Gras

Many were raving about the beef but mine was left rested too long such that the outer was a little hard and the crispy pancetta, according to everyone else tasted like soap

Assiette of Chocolate Tastes – Salted Chocolate Fondant, Macaron, White Chocolate & Lavender Milkshake

A delightful and balanced dessert, built on various sweetness

Selection of Cheese

By then we had already gave up

Celebratory Cake

Which looked every bit stunning

And the couple took their first dance. This marked the end of the wedding where we were left pampered and spoilt for (so much) food, life was simply enjoyable there

We visited the town of St Emilion the next day, filled with cobbled pavement and lots of wine shops. It would probably be a good place to get some wine if you didn’t manage to get them at the wineries

What a view

Had lunch at a random restaurant (Salmon tartare with fries that were so good) before carting off to Bordeaux, which is a half hour train ride away by TGV

Bordeaux would make a good day trip if you are bored, but maximum 2 days at best. We finished most of the attractions in half a day by walking from one place to another. This speaks volume on how small the place is. The friend even managed to squeeze in some shopping time before we were off to search for dinner. Also, there is an area which has a heavy middle Eastern influence, which can be pretty scary when you walk at night.. So just be careful

Saint Michel Bell Tower, or otherwise known as La Flèche is a source of pride of Bordeaux

Grosse Cloche de Bordeaux

Porte Cailhau

Strolling along the riverside

Place de la Bourse

Rue Sainte-Catherine Street, the main shopping street in Bordeaux

Since Bordeaux is a small town, it will be necessary to make reservations at restaurants if you have any to dine at, if not you might just have to make do with one of those touristy restaurants which we didn’t want to. So we were venturing around the Saint Pierre district and we found a place that serves crepes

The place was pretty interesting in terms of interior design. It’s a very local kind of place with crowd coming in during later part of the evening and I just can’t wait for dinner

Foie Gras and Toasts €9.80

I didn’t quite like the foie gras here. I thought the butter tasted a little strange

Oceane €9.90

Scallops, tomatoes, parsley, garlic and cream

Bouchère €11

The minced beef topped with emmental cheese and mushrooms served with roquefort sauce was amazing. I love how tender and sweet the meat was, complemented with a flavourful cheese sauce

We had actually wanted to dine elsewhere but unfortunately the place was already fully booked. Turns out it was a blessing in disguise since we were lucky we managed to find a decent dinner place without having to walk for long. At the very least, I get to tick ‘French Crepes’ off my food list

Creperie Sel et Sucre

5 Rue du Palais de l Ombriere, 33000, Bordeaux, France

And with the wedding behind us, Paris next.

Click here for Chateau Rigaud – The Wedding Prelude