Christmas at the château never happens all at once. It arrives slowly, over several days, as rooms are dressed one by one and the château gradually begins to feel warmer, fuller and more expectant. This year was no different. We spent days decorating, moving from room...

It has been a busy summer at Chateau de la Boutiniere. We have hosted our first two weddings, which were a huge success.

Sadly, we lost my dear mum Rosemary in May. She was our inspiration to buy the chateau and our biggest supporter.

In our latest vlog, we talk about the progress in our wedding garden.

It has been such a wet summer which has slowed down our progress with our wedding garden. We have finally managed to get outside to make some progress.

In our latest vlog, I talk about what I’ve been doing with Zion still away.

More bargain hunting at the local brocante, which is always a great day out. I’m also making plans for our first wedding, which is very exciting and nerve wracking.

In our latest vlog, I talk about what I’ve been doing while Zion has been away.

I really enjoy visiting the brocantes in France and have been bargain hunting, which is one of my favourite pastimes. I’m quite excited about my finds.

In our latest vlog, we talk about the old photos we came across of the chateau.

The photos tell us more about the rich history of the chateau before we bought it. It seems it was used as a church. It has been fascinating to see these photos.

You can watch our fist vlog on our chateau adventures. Hear how our lovely old hunting lodge floor started to rise. It was very concerning as you can imagine.

There are always new challenges at Chateau de la Boutiniere, but they never phase Zion.

January - our château rocks! In January, filming of the preparation of our wedding garden was drawn to a halt by the discovery of rocks just below the surface soil, preventing us from carrying out the wedding garden design we had set our hearts on doing. These rocks...

It’s 2 years today that we moved to the beautiful Chateau de la Boutiniere. It’s been 2 years of hard work and challenges as we have transitioned to living in France, but we love our new life here and have made so many new French and English friends. We’ve just...

It is mid-winter here at Chateau de la Boutiniere. We are huddled around a roaring fire heaped with wood from our own forest, which smells divine! We have slowly de-camped down to 2 rooms (out of the chateau’s 47 rooms!), to stay warm and save on fuel, so I am writing...

It never ceases to amaze us that the view from the wedding terrace changes so much throughout the seasons.   The mature trees to the rear of the chateau have burst forth their leaves and wonderfully vivid shades of green are everywhere. The birds are...

Spring has most definitely sprung at our beautiful Chateau home, and we’ve felt blessed to watch the gardens come to life with beautiful daffodils and birdsong. We still have a long way to go before our vision for a stunning wedding venue is a reality, but as the...