Say “I Do” on the Banks of the River Garonne at One of Bordeaux’s Finest Wedding Venues

Bordeaux is known the world over as France’s enchanting wine capital and is a perfect location for your wedding. But then comes the hard part: choosing your venue! While there are dozens of options, we thought we should spotlight a venue that keeps cropping up on our socials and one that is often mentioned within our circles.

The venue in question is Château Gassies – an 18th-century château and estate perched on the river Garonne. With its elegant white-stone architecture, delightful formal garden, and attached private parkland, this place can provide the perfect backdrop for your love story. Throw in a broad spectrum of high-end on-site amenities and a huge range of options for your wedding celebration, and it’s no wonder this venue is making waves in the French wedding scene. 

So, let’s look at what tying the knot at Château Gassies might entail and how you can leverage our services to make your big day even more spectacular. 

One of Bordeaux’s Finest Châteaus in the Heart of Wine Country

While the meticulously manicured formal lawns with criss-crossing walkways give this place a pristine feeling, it was in a fairly rundown state back in 2014. Since the change of ownership, the revival of Château Gassies has been nothing short of phenomenal. 

Now, the 18th-century château (complete with its 19th-century additions of two parallel wings) looks incredible. It’s the perfect space for a wedding celebration with bags of outdoor space (14 hectares) and modern facilities, including two outdoor swimming pools, five guest suites in the château and a couple of holiday cottages, so you can provide an overnight option for your nearest and dearest celebrating with you.

There’s also a fully equipped on-site wellness centre with a sauna, gym, steam room, and massage treatment available upon request. Talk about a relaxing buildup to your wedding! 

Aside from the two swimming pool areas, guests can spend their downtime playing a game of boules on the purpose-built gravel court or enjoy a few tennis games on the multi-use sports court. Plus, Bordeaux itself is just five minutes away and offers a whole host of activities and attractions for your guests during their stay. 

As an exclusive-use wedding venue, you will have free roam of the place, and you will also be treated to brunch the day after the wedding, which we think is a lovely touch. 

Getting Married at Château Gassies: Our Wedding Event Production Suggestions

Right, let’s get into the nitty gritty then and talk you through some options for your wedding day at this fantastic venue. 

Wedding Ceremony 

For the ceremony, you’ve got plenty of choices. If you want to maximise the incredible parkland, we recommend an outdoor ceremony under or near the enormous 250-year-old cedar tree. That first kiss with it in the background will look terrific on camera! 

If you’re getting married at a time of year when the weather is less predictable, we recommend using the 19th-century covered courtyard found within one of the parallel wings. It’s bursting with history with old stone walls, more than a century-old tile floor and dramatic oversized arched windows.

We like what many couples have done when using this location, which is to face the chairs outward towards the manicured lawns and install a floral wedding arch as the focal point – so the couple and officiant are actually outside during the ceremony.  You can see this setup over on the venue’s Instagram page.

Cocktail Hour and Wedding Reception

We would advise utilising the West Terrace at the rear of the main château building for the cocktail hour. As the name suggests, it’s west-facing and perfectly captures the sunset as you and your partner make your way around the estate, taking those all-important golden hour photos. 

For the reception, you’ve got a couple of options. Most couples choose the dedicated wedding reception space, which offers 190 square metres of indoor space and can comfortably seat up to 150 guests. It boasts high ceilings, imposing wooden beams, and tasteful chandeliers. Better yet, the venue provides tables and chairs, which can be arranged in several formats to suit your preferences.

We feel that the addition of specific wedding lighting could really transform this space into your own. Due to the nature of the stone walls and wooden roof, monogram lighting would work really well here. Another nice touch would be wireless LED uplighters in your desired hue, to give your space the perfect ambience - All these option can be found on our Lighting Hire page 

For evening entertainment, most couples opt for a DJ, and they often position themselves on the galleried landing, looking down at the guests below. We recommend doing the same (it gives the party more of a live concert feel) and setting up the DJ equipment and booth up there while running cabling down to the ground level where the PA system and some of the disco lighting would be based. 

You could, of course, opt to make the most of the Bordeaux weather and host your wedding reception outdoors with a wedding marquee. The best spot would be on the northern side of the château, where the ground is flattest. You could hire one of our canvas stretch tents – which gives you the best of both worlds with protection from the heat while still delivering panoramic views of your surroundings, or go for our huge sailcloth tent, which measures 28m x 12m and is almost a venue within a venue. Each can be hired with fairy and festoon lighting, premium flooring, and everything else you might require.  

Call Fête24 Today to Discuss Your Plans for an Incredible Wedding at Château Gassies

We’re a small, family-run wedding supplier based in Dordogne, and we boast nearly 20 years’ experience in the events industry. From small private parties to large-scale festivals, we’ve done it all and have recently brought that expertise to the French wedding market – with a fantastic initial response. 

If you would like to chat through our availability, your ideas, and our equipment hire/event production services in more detail, feel free to shoot us an email at bonjour@fete24.com to book in a no-obligation consultation. We look forward to hearing what you have in store for this fantastic place!