A Classic, Romantic Wedding at Chateau D'artigny in Montbazon, France

For their early fall wedding, Peiwen Chen and Thanh Tran celebrated in style, hosting a classic, romantic fete at an 18th-century castle in Montbazon, France.

The couple played up the Chateau D’artigny’s innate sense of opulence with a blush, cream and gold color palette and arrangements of full, classic blooms. Wild vines and wildflowers adorned the ceremony aisle and elegant stone staircase, making guests feel as though they’d been whisked off to a secret garden. Peiwen and Thanh took advantage of the castle’s meticulously groomed gardens for photos and hosted the reception in the gilded Belle Époque ballroom.

While the venue’s historic charm dominated the décor, the couple ensured that the event embodied plenty of personal flair. For the ceremony, they wrote their own vows (which were translated into Chinese and French), a close friend served as their celebrant, and Peiwen and Thanh surprised guests with a pseudo flash mob after dinner.

“With guests traveling halfway across the world, we wanted the wedding weekend to be full of surprises. So, we decided to surprise everyone and include them in our wedding dance,” Peiwen says. With the help of the choreographer who worked with them on their first dance, the couple put together simple choreography for seven songs and recruited the wedding party to lead each dance.

“We briefed the guests five minutes before filming began and gave them props brought over from Hong Kong," she says. "Seven of the 11 tables had song names, including ‘Single Ladies’ by Beyoncé, ‘Watch Me Whip’ by Silento and ‘Stop’ by Spice Girls, which were placed around the reception in accordance with song orders. The video of the group dance was hilarious and unreal!”