The perfect wedding venue in the French Alps

Charlotte and Rupert met with James (the manager of Hotel Coutettaz), who welcomed them with a drink by the crackling fire in the bar. Charlotte vividly remembers quickly connecting with the cool vibe of Hotel Coutettaz on that initial meeting to a soundtrack of Redbone by Childish Gambino.

Not long into their visit Charlotte and Rupert realised James’ can do attitude combined with such a beautiful venue was a winning formula. Hotel Coutettaz, the oldest building in Morzine has a very special history which is still etched into its walls today. After they’d seen the lawns, dining rooms and 11 unique ensuite bedrooms, the couples’ minds were made up. This was the place!

After seeing the lawn and realising its potential for the ceremony, Charlotte and Rupert decided on a garden party theme for their wedding. One of the reasons for choosing to marry in the French Alps was the freedom it would give them to tear up the traditional wedding rule book and create something very personal.

The garden party theme would allow the guests a broad interpretation of what to wear. Hotel Coutettaz could be dressed in beautiful alpine flowers inspired by their summer hikes in the surrounding mountains. With the decision made the date was set for a summer wedding and the planning began in earnest.

A very personal wedding

The wedding actually began the night before the ceremony. Charlotte and Rupert invited their guests to join them up at Lake Montriond for an informal and fun sunset gathering.

The following morning saw Reuben from Eight Bells Wedding Imagery get to work. He whisked the couple up to the top of the Col de Joux Plane high above Morzine. Here Reuben captured some incredibly personal and unique photos. Charlotte and Rupert a splender against the stunning alpine backdrop of the Mont Blanc Massif.

It was a beautiful hot summer’s day and back down at The Farmhouse the guests were gatherling dressed in an array of pastel colours, linen suits and flowing floral dresses.

The ceremony was on the front lawn of Hotel Coutettaz, overlooking Morzine, with Avoriaz poised up in the mountains behind. One of the couple’s best friends conducted the ceremony, which he had written himself. This made for a truly individual and personal service, with lots of beautiful sentiment that could only have been delivered by a close friend.

Then followed a stirring reading from Charlotte’s friend, and another close friend gave a hilarious rendition of a David Bowie song.

Beautiful alpine wild flowers

The flower choice was inspired by the local mountain flowers. Charlotte and Rupert are keen hikers, spending a lot of time hiking in Morzine and love the wild flower meadows.

Wild flowers in pastel shades and loose, free flowing arrangements and bouquets were created. A few white roses were introduced here and there added for effect. Delbard Morzine were recommended by Hotel Coutettaz and they did a wonderful job with the flowers as usual. The couple did not give them lots of details, just told them broadly what they liked. With a few photos of the local flowers they’d seen, Delbard did the rest.

What Is a French wedding without some French cuisine?!

It was important to Charlotte and Rupert to work plenty of French influence into the food and wine. Hotel Coutettaz specialises in high quality French food and beverages. They designed a special bespoke menu encompassing some French classics expertly complimented with beautiful wines.

Charlotte and Rupert’s favourite Vichyssoise was served as a starter and later in the evening a hearty feast of tartiflette, the couples favourite ski snack, was served at midnight which went down a storm.

The wedding cake was made by local experts La Bonbonniere; it had a two tier base of strawberries and raspberries, with a macaroon tower on top. La Bonbonniere created a bespoke masterpiece specially for the wedding.

Music to make moves to

The couple came down the aisle to ‘You’re all I need to get by’ by Marvin Gaye and left to ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’. They couldn’t get married in the mountains without some obvious references now could they?! The first dance was ‘Grow old with me’ by Tom Odell.

Local DJ, Dan Aken kept the dance floor packed all evening and was really keen on Charlotte and Rupert providing him with their favourite tunes and he came up with an awesome, very personal set.

The unflappable team at Hotel Coutettaz

James and his team delivered a very personal and bespoke wedding experience for Charlotte and Rupert’s special day. Behind the scenes, the team worked tirelessly before, during and after the wedding to ensure everything was thought about, prepared for and executed to the highest of standards.

The Farmhouse works with some incredible local partners to deliver that bespoke wedding experience with the highest quality. Offering a unique alpine location for all aspects of a wedding, combined with an unstoppable team of staff, Hotel Coutettaz truly is the perfect wedding venue in the French Alps.