At first, a destination wedding wasn’t part of the plan for Sam and Katie. At first, all signs pointed to the SoCal. Los Angeles is where Katie and Sam’s love story started Sophmore year of college. Plus, Katie describes herself as “a crafter at heart” and imagined a wedding filled with DIY-ed details, which would be more easily achieved in a location closer to home. However, as their venue search got underway, Katie and Sam ran into something they didn’t anticipate.

“The venues in California felt transactional, heavy with rules and stipulations,” the bride explains. What she wanted wasn’t a look so much as a feeling anyway. When California stopped feeling right, the couple began asking a different question entirely. If not here, then where? The answer: France. “The culture, music, food, art, architecture that pumps through France also beats through Sam and me,” Katie says. And once they narrowed it down further to Provence, known for its golden light and timeworn beauty, everything began to click into place.

Still, choosing a destination so far from home came with its own weight. “Most of our guests were coming from the West Coast, and that meant a very long travel day and a huge commitment,” Katie shares. The couple had to make peace with the fact that not everyone would be able to attend, and instead focused on how to care deeply for those who could. From detailed travel guidance to thoughtfully paced events, guest experience became a priority woven into the entire weekend.

The search for the perfect venue became the linchpin of the plan. “I knew I’d need to find the venue before anything else to ensure it all was possible,” the bride says. Navigating a different language and country proved challenging, so she got creative. She learned French search terms, scoured Instagram, and eventually opened up Google Maps, zooming in on small towns and scanning for anything that might work. That’s how they found Lourmarin and, soon after, Le Galinier de Lourmarin, an 18th-century country house restored into an intimate boutique bed and breakfast.

“It was perfect,” Katie recalls. “The classic provincial style, with its thick stone walls, terracotta tiles, and flower-filled landscape, was as quaint and special and grand as I’d imagined.” The town itself only added to the magic. Cobblestone streets, pastel shutters, shady café-lined squares, and a long history of artists and writers gave Lourmarin a lived-in romance that felt authentic rather than staged. Guests arriving for the weekend quickly found themselves immersed, often bumping into one another at the local Friday market as the celebration organically unfolded.

The wedding weekend began with a welcome dinner at Le Moulin, another Beaumier property nearby, where guests were greeted with a whimsical sign featuring the couple’s beloved cat, a playful motif that appeared throughout the weekend. From the start, it was clear this wedding would be deeply personal. Katie, a graphic designer turned interior designer, took the lead on nearly all of the creative elements herself. “I knew I’d want to do as much myself as possible,” she says.

Her first labor of love was the wedding website, designed to feel like the wedding itself, layered with pattern and art. The save-the-dates were hand-screen-printed at home, cut into the shape of a hotel door tag, with an accompanying Madeleine-shaped card pointing guests to the website. Even the addresses were hand-calligraphed using a Cricut, finished with vintage stamps. The invitations followed suit, letterpressed and painted by hand, with the main invite shaped like an oyster, a motif that would reappear again and again.

That attention to detail carried through the entire tablescape. Custom runners and napkins were designed with a small manufacturer in India, each napkin embroidered with a different symbol representing the couple’s relationship. Real French antique serveware, rented locally, added another layer of authenticity. “Those little details made my heart scream,” Katie admits. Oysters took center stage during cocktail hour, both on the menu and in the decor, with hand-calligraphed oyster shells doubling as place cards and keepsakes.

Rather than a traditional photo booth, the couple opted for a live illustrator who spent the evening capturing guests in delicate drawings. “Many of our guests have them framed,” Katie says. For the guest book, they chose Andy Warhol’s Wild Strawberries, his only cookbook, inviting loved ones to sign alongside whimsical illustrations that perfectly mirrored the spirit of the weekend.

The ceremony itself was intentionally intimate. Held in a smaller area of the property, it emphasized closeness and connection. Katie’s mother’s longtime friend officiated, bringing warmth and familiarity to the moment. Katie chose to walk herself down the aisle, a decision she describes as scary but meaningful. “It was important that our ceremony was about our love coming together to grow even larger, instead of giving away one love for another,” she shares. The couple exchanged self-written vows, accompanied by the soft soundtrack of a strolling band. As if on cue, the bells from the local church chimed during their vows, a moment that felt impossibly cinematic.

Planning from afar required patience, trust, and an exceptional team. Their planners at Best Events Co. helped bridge language and distance gaps, while Sam and Katie committed to learning French over two years, turning lessons into pre-wedding date nights. A site visit a year before the wedding solidified their confidence and allowed them to better guide their guests. Weekly planning calls, shared documents, and an abundance of communication kept everything moving forward.

Looking back, Katie credits flexibility as one of the most valuable lessons she learned. “Like every wedding, not everything went according to plan,” she says. “But that is where the sweetness lies.” Inspired by Priya Parker’s book, The Art of Gathering, the couple embraced small surprises and imperfections, trusting that those moments only encouraged deeper connection among their guests.

@destinationido When you know a Provence, France wedding is for you, you know…and Katie and Sam knew the second they found Lourmarin on Google Maps. 🥂 🎥 @Wedding Photographer Europe 📸 @Editorial Wedding photographer #provenvewedding #lourmarinprovence #francedestinationwedding#wedtok #weddingtok ♬ Wedding day – SCOPE MUSIC & the pianist

Vendors: Venue: Le Galinier de Lourmarin; Planning & Design: Best Events Co. & Moaya Events; Photographer: Cleya Asulon; Second Photographer & Super 8 Video Producer: Lisasvisuals; Florals: Flower and Twig by Charlotte; Catering: Pascal Reynaud; Rentals: Be Lounge & Options; Musicians: Storytellers & Fix The Music; Bar: Monsieur Cocktail; Stationery: Millie Stone; Live Illustrator: Daria Stephenson; Hair: Un brin d’audace