Château de Vallery · Jul 8, 2027–Jul 10, 2027
Join us for our wedding: three days in a thousand-year-old château, with long dinners, late nights and nowhere else we need to be.
Words from Shilah
We couldn’t be more excited to celebrate our marriage with you in France and bring you into the beautiful love bubble that we found at Chateau Vallery in the French countryside. We are going to create a truly magical weekend full of beauty, music, creativity, yummy French food and drink, and of course full of ooey gooey, juicy love – the best kind.
I think by this time you all know that Guillaume and I are hopeless romantics (well, maybe no longer hopeless since we finally found each other), but this place hit on every romantic ideal about love that we’ve ever had, and so we knew that we had to take you there. From the worn trails through the forest, to the renaissance and medieval architecture, to the sexy pool, to the manicured gardens, to the thoughtful décor and detail – all of it is done with such intention, and a deep respect for the place and its history.
*And, no pressure to come. We know this is a really big ask of your time and its really far. We won’t be upset if you can’t make it, but we’ll of course celebrate back at home.
Le Lovefest
A birthday, our wedding, a thousand-year-old château and enough time for everyone to become friends.
Vallery, Yonne · Summer 2027
5:00pm
We reserved the château first and only afterwards looked properly at the calendar: Jul 8, 2027 is Shilah’s birthday. We took that as permission to make the first night a proper party. So Thursday belongs to her. We are keeping the rest of it a surprise.
All day
The morning is yours. Sleep late, wander the grounds, find the pool. Centuries of château to get lost in with courtyards, gardens, a medieval cellar. Crêpes by midday, and inevitably a game of pétanque. Friday is the day everyone finally meets everyone. And if the ramparts move you to a duel, we can probably find you a shield.
The forest · Gathering at 6:00pm
We will meet at the edge of the forest at six and walk out together. Then a ceremony, cocktails, a long shared feast, and music and dancing that we fully intend to carry until the sun comes up.
Swimming Pool, Oriental Pavilion · Until 3:00pm
One last gathering before we say goodbye. A proper petit déjeuner by the pool: coffee, croissants, orange juice, nothing formal. The château is ours until three, so swim, lie in the sun, and help us empty whatever bottles are left.
The Place
It started with a phone call. Guillaume rang his friend Brice, who got on his motorbike and rode out to Vallery to see it for us. When he called back, we were on a plane within days. A knight once rode out from here for the Crusades. Ours came back with better news.
Next year, Vallery turns one thousand years old. Its medieval cellars still stand; its Renaissance wing was built by Pierre Lescot, architect of the Louvre. But what decided it for us was the family. Patrice bought a ruin in 1989 and has spent every year since bringing it back, room by room. You can feel that devotion everywhere.
For one weekend, we will have all of it, with no curfew, no closing time, music drifting to the edge of the forest. We want you in the château or in the village, so Vallery feels like a small festival of love.
Getting There
About 90 minutes south of Paris · Vallery, Yonne
ParisChâteau de ValleryWhere to Stay
There are twenty eight rooms inside the château walls, from the grand to the charmingly simple, and more than two hundred places to stay in Vallery and the villages around it. Not everyone can be inside the walls, but everyone can be close, and that is what we are hoping for: park the car when you arrive and spend two or three days on foot, and “slightly” elevated.
Vallery, France
Vallery and the surrounding villages
Answers
The Lovefest begins on Thursday, Jul 8, 2027, and concludes after our poolside petit déjeuner on Saturday, Jul 10, 2027.
There are two themed evenings: Thursday for Shilah’s birthday, and Friday for the wedding. We will share both themes closer to the date, so keep a little room in your suitcase. There is also a pool, so pack a swimsuit.
Elliott, Julien and Laura will be with us, and they will have a buddy, so their parents can properly enjoy themselves. Beyond that we are keeping the celebration child free, so that all of us can dance until sunrise without one eye on the time.
Possibly. It is France.
Yes. Choose the full Lovefest or wedding day only.
Also possible. Fair warning: a thousand-year-old château has no air conditioning, and the last few Julys have been brutal. We will manage.
RSVP
Tell us how you’re joining the Lovefest.
