Inside: A Fairytale Château Wedding In France

From a Year 9 German class romance to a sparkling Eiffel Tower proposal years later, step inside Kayleigh-Paige Palmer and Kieran Palmer’s fairytale Château wedding at Château de la Couronne in the French countryside.

The story so far

(This was what was read out by our celebrant for our service and is about our whole story)

Our story began on 13th September 2010, in a Year 9 German class, where fate – or perhaps the school’s surname-order seating plan – placed us next to each other. The moment Kieran introduced himself, I had a very clear, very calm, entirely reasonable thought for a 13-year-old: I’m going to marry him! What followed was around 18 months of quiet, determined devotion.

There were systems in place. Calendars were marked daily – a tick if Kieran spoke to me, a cross if he didn’t. I could tell you, even now, that he only took one sick day that entire time… and yes, it was a Friday. We sat together in German and IT, and shared just about every other subject going, which provided ample opportunity for pens to be ‘accidentally’ dropped or flicked in his direction.

There was also a carefully planned mufti day outfit that required a special shopping trip with Mum, and plenty of hopeful daydreaming along the way – often soundtracked by Taylor Swift music videos. All entirely sweet and definitely not concerning.

Eventually, thanks to a Halloween party, a well-meaning mum, and the unstoppable efficiency of school gossip, the secret was out. Kieran, however, thought nothing of it, and life continued on. Until one day there came a ballet performance. I had been cast as Maid Marion, and it felt wonderfully serendipitous when I learned that Kieran would be in the audience. I can still picture him sitting there, third row back, centre seat, on that Saturday evening.

Not long after, I sent Kieran a message over Facebook at 9am. He left me on read for eight hours – which felt more like a lifetime – before finally replying and asking me on a date. Two dates later, outside T-Block at Frome College, at exactly 3:04pm on 8th May 2012, Kieran asked me to be his girlfriend. From that moment on, we never looked back.

Kieran likes to say that I fell first, but everyone knows… he fell harder.

In a full-circle moment, on 8th May 2023, beneath the thousands of sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower, Kieran asked me to marry him – proving that sometimes, the boy who takes eight hours to reply turns out to be very much worth the wait. That’s not to say everything was always smooth sailing – life pulled us in different directions – but we always chose each other.

Completing the circle, we married on 8th May 2026. This date is such an auspicious one for us: the number eight relates to balance and harmony and is also the infinity symbol, while May is all about renewal and the celebration of life. We can’t wait to continue our story.

Venue

In 2024, we began searching for our perfect wedding venue, and in May of that year we travelled to France to view a selection of châteaux with our wedding planners. Originally, we weren’t even meant to visit Château de la Couronne, but after a last-minute cancellation from another venue, our planners arranged a viewing there instead – and it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. Up until that point, although we had seen some beautiful venues, none of them had truly felt like the one. The moment we arrived at Château de la Couronne, we instantly knew it was exactly what we had been searching for. From the breathtaking beauty of the château and its grounds to the warm welcome from Lucy, one of the owners, everything felt so special and completely us. We genuinely couldn’t have asked for a more perfect venue or wedding weekend.

Every part of the celebration felt magical, from the relaxed soirée and pizza evening the night before to the wedding day itself, and then finishing the weekend with the pool party the day after. It gave us the opportunity to spend meaningful time with all of our family and friends in the most incredible setting. Château de la Couronne was truly our dream wedding location, and it made our entire wedding weekend more special than we could ever have imagined.

Fashion

For my legal ceremony in England, my French wedding, and the evening soirée, I wore three different dresses. After falling in love with Milla Nova designs online, I searched for UK stockists – only two in the South carried the brand: Exeter and London. So I visited Brides at Waterfields in Exeter with my mum and best friend. The experience was perfect, and I unexpectedly fell in love with a Stella York gown there. I still managed to include Milla Nova by wearing one of their layered pink and purple dresses for our soirée in France the night before the big day.

The suits came from Not Just Brides, who supplied Peter Posh tweed suits for the boys: brown tweed for our legal ceremony and blue herringbone tweed in France. Kieran wore a double-breasted ivory waistcoat and his gold pocket watch, gifted by his best man.

Jewellery

I wore my beautiful engagement ring from Le Vian, a diamond necklace and matching earrings from Swarovski, and I borrowed my mum’s tiara from her wedding.

Bridal party

I found getting my bridesmaid dresses one of the hardest parts, but I found the most beautiful ice-blue embellished crystal floral dresses from Karen Millen and absolutely loved them. Each of my girls received their own personalised bag on the morning of the wedding with pyjamas to wear whilst getting ready. Our ring bearer, Abel, wore a lovely blue suit from Next with a bow tie made from my wedding dress fabric.

Tablescape

We had beautiful Jolie Bleau linen from Château Noir, and our wonderful florists arranged our floral arch around us. We had candlesticks and flowers all along our table. We worked with By Hearts & Crafts and created personal poems for each of our guests to sit and receive when they entered the banquet hall.

Food & drinks

Welcome drink: Hugo Spritz

Cold canapés: Duck breast, Melon Mozzarella Skewers, Smoked Salmon & Crème Fraîche, Shrimp soaked in Vanilla wrapped in pineapple, Emmental waffle, Serrano ham Panna cotta crumble

Hot canapés: Truffled Croque Monsieur, Yakitori Chicken skewers

Starter: Goats cheese & cured ham shavings on toast country bread, rocket & balsamic

Main: Farm chicken supreme stuffed with mushrooms in a Manslois cream, dauphinois potato with carrots

Dessert: Summer Red Berry Cheesecake

White wine: Tarani Blanc IGP Comte Tolosan

Rosé Wine: Tarani Rose Comte Tolosan de IGP Comte Tolosan

Entertainment

We had the lovely Bordeaux Pianist play throughout our ceremony and during our reception. I walked down the aisle to ‘This Year’s Love’ by David Gray, and our exit song was ‘When You Say Nothing at All’ by Ronan Keating. The pianist was wonderful, and during the evening we had a band called Detroit Rumour, who were excellent.

Honeymoon

We have a mini-moon planned at The Swan Hotel in Wells, and we are looking to book our honeymoon for January in the Maldives.

Advice

Keep the day focused on what matters most to you as a couple. We had an intimate wedding, and what mattered most was feeling present and surrounded by people who truly loved and supported us.
Don’t stress about making everything perfect. The small, unplanned moments are often the ones you remember most. Make sure you trust your planner and know that they’ve got your back.
Take a few quiet moments together during the day. The wedding goes by so quickly, and having time to pause and enjoy it together makes it even more special.