A Wedding at Airelles Gordes, La Bastide

Where

On the ramparts of the village of Gordes, Luberon

Hotel

A Palace hotel with 40 rooms and suites

Weddings

April to October; the hotel can be reserved exclusively

Getting there

40 minutes to an hour from Avignon, about an hour from Marseille airport

The Bastide

The building began in the 16th century as a manor house and grew into an 18th-century bastide on the ramparts of the village. From 1948 it welcomed artists such as Victor Vasarely, Marc Chagall and André Lhote in the summers. After a restoration involving more than 150 artisans it reopened in 2015 as a Maison Airelles, and since 2016 it has held the French Palace distinction – the highest rating for a hotel in France. It has 40 rooms and suites, several restaurants and a spa.

Two weddings in Gordes

Gaby and Ryan began their day with a private vow exchange in the little streets of the village, then said “I do” in front of their guests on the terrace of La Bastide with the whole Luberon valley below them. Dinner was served outdoors under the stars, and the night ended with a dance party inside. Yasmine and Charles’s wedding blended Persian traditions – the sofreh, the music, the colours – with the elegance of Provence, planned and designed by Love & Provence.

Ceremonies take place under the pergola or in the terraced gardens, and dinner on the terrace or indoors. Weddings run from April to October, and the hotel can be reserved for exclusive use.

Getting there and around

Avignon, with its TGV station only about 2 hours 40 minutes from Paris, is 40 minutes to an hour away by car; Marseille airport is about an hour or a little more. Around Gordes your guests can visit the Abbey of Sénanque with its lavender fields, the ochre cliffs of Roussillon and the villages of Ménerbes and Lacoste.

A legal French marriage takes place at the town hall, so most couples marry legally at home and celebrate in Gordes with a symbolic ceremony. More about weddings in Provence and on the French Riviera.