Loire Valley · Chinonais · Lémeré
Wedding photographer at
Château du Rivau
Château du Rivau is one of the venues we would most like to photograph in the Loire. A fifteenth century fortress wrapped in fourteen gardens, less than an hour from where we live in the Vienne. If you are marrying here, this is what two documentary photographers would bring to your day.
Why Rivau suits the way we work
Rivau is made for documentary photography. Fourteen themed gardens listed as a Jardin Remarquable, roses and iris and the potager de Gargantua, a medieval fortress whose light shifts hour by hour. That is a day with somewhere new to look at every turn, and no need to stage a single frame.
The reception spaces open straight onto the gardens, so the celebration and the setting are never separate. For couples who care about greenery and colour, few venues in the Chinonais give a photographer more to work with.
Where your day photographs
The Golden Fleece reception room
A tufa-walled hall facing the Gargantua kitchen garden, up to two hundred and fifty seated.
The gardens
Classified Jardins Remarquables, five hundred roses and fairytale art among the beds, for the portraits.
The Wine Press House
A semi-covered period space, four hundred standing for a summer cocktail.
The Royal Stables
A Renaissance barrel-vaulted building in tuffeau stone, now the château hotel.
How we would photograph your day
We came to weddings from photojournalism. We observe, we anticipate, we capture what happens without interrupting it. No posing, no staging the facade, no asking anyone to do it again.
We always work as two. While one of us is at the ceremony, the other is watching the faces. That second pair of eyes is the difference between a record of the venue and a record of your day.
Getting there, and what it costs
Rivau is less than an hour away. We live in Lencloître, in the Vienne, and travel to weddings in the Vienne and the Loire Valley is included in our packages, with no surcharge.
Our packages start at 3,190 €, both photographers for the full day, all edited images included.
Why us
This Is Reportage, TOP 20 Storytellers in the World, 2022. WPJA, TOP 50 Photographers in the World, 2021 and 2022. 232 international awards across sixteen years, judged anonymously from real weddings.
337 weddings photographed since 2009, across Europe. We are based in the Vienne, we speak French, English and Romanian, and we always work as a duo.
"We planned our whole wedding around being able to work with them. The way they naturally blend in while capturing every emotion, warm, humane, and so easy to work with."
"It only took five minutes to realise they were the friends we wanted to pay to be at our wedding."
Frequently asked questions
How many guests for a wedding at Château du Rivau?+
The Golden Fleece reception room seats up to two hundred and fifty guests.
Are you available to photograph weddings at Château du Rivau?+
Yes. Rivau is exactly the kind of venue we travel to. We are based in Lencloître, in the Vienne, and travel to weddings in the Vienne and the Loire Valley is included in our packages, with no surcharge.
How much does a wedding photographer at Château du Rivau cost?+
Our packages start at 3,190 €. That covers both photographers for the full day, from preparations to the evening, with all the edited images delivered in a private online gallery.
Do you work as two photographers?+
Always. Cristina and Petrică cover every wedding together, two angles at once. After sixteen years and 337 weddings, we coordinate without needing to speak.
Do you speak English?+
Yes, fluently. We work in French, English and Romanian, which matters for the international couples and mixed families who so often marry in this part of France.
How far in advance should we book?+
Most couples book 12 to 18 months ahead, and peak summer dates go first. If your date at Rivau is approaching, write to us anyway, it costs nothing to check availability.
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