For Your Wedding Day
Every Love Story Has Its Own Kind of Magic
You have spent years building a life, a love, a story. On your wedding day, I want every person in that room to feel the full weight of how special that story is.
I create warm, elegant and deeply personal wedding ceremonies for couples who want something that genuinely reflects who they are. Not a template. Not a script that could belong to anyone else. A ceremony that is completely, unmistakably yours.
I cover weddings across Charente Maritime, Charente, the Dordogne and the Gironde. I am based in Charente Maritime, and I love working with couples who are celebrating in France, whether you are local residents, expats, or bringing your family and friends over for a destination celebration.
What is Included in
Your Wedding Package
Whether you are at the beginning, the middle or the end of a chapter, there is a ceremony for it. Here is what I offer across Charente Maritime, Charente, the Dordogne and the Gironde.
My wedding package is built around the idea that your ceremony deserves time, thought and care.
Here is everything that is included in my fee.
- An initial consultation to make sure we are a wonderful fit for each other
- A Couples Quiz to help me really get to know you
- A face-to-face or Zoom consultation where I find out about your love story, your hopes and your vision for the day
- Access to a curated selection of poems and readings
- An introduction to vow writing, to help you find your words
- A completely unique and bespoke ceremony script, crafted for you and no one else
- All drafts and revisions until you are completely happy
- Unlimited access to me throughout the entire process
- Guidance on the legal aspects of marrying in France
- Liaison with all your other suppliers to ensure everyone is perfectly synchronised
- A venue visit, where I meet your wedding planner and photographer and advise on seating and ceremonial choreography. I will also liaise with your musician or DJ
- Officiating your ceremony on the day
- A beautiful presentation copy of your ceremony script to keep
- Travel within 40 kilometres of my home in Charente Maritime
Bespoke Ceremony, Written Just for You
Thoughtful Planning, Right Down to the Details
An important note on the legalities of marrying in France:
In France the legal element of the marriage can only happen in the local Mairie’s office (this is similar to a registry office in the UK). For a couple to get legally married in France at least one partner has to have French residency. For that reason, those of you who are having destination weddings in France, who do not have French residency, will need to have their legal marriage either before the celebration, back home, or afterwards. Unlike in the UK, a church wedding in France is not legally recognised. A couple having a wedding in a church, still need to register their marriage with the Mairie. I am happy to guide you through exactly what you need to arrange. I do not do legal marriages in France, I undertake and officiate your celebratory wedding.
How We Create Your Ceremony Together
We start with a brief initial contact to make sure we are a wonderful match for each other. That chemistry matters to me enormously.
From there, we have a face-to-face or Zoom consultation where I really get to know you as a couple. How you met, what your lives look like, what you are dreaming of for your ceremony. I will also ask you to complete my Couples Quiz.
Together, we decide on the elements of your ceremony: which moments to include, which readings, which symbolic elements if you are having any, and how the whole thing will flow.
I will not begin writing until your venue and date are confirmed, so I know I am available for you.
I visit your venue before the day, meeting your wedding planner and photographer and working out exactly how the choreography and seating will work for your space.
I write your bespoke ceremony script and share it with you for feedback. We refine it together until it is exactly right. Before the big day, we have a final logistics call to make sure everything is perfectly in place.
A rehearsal is optional for most couples, though I do recommend one for handfasting ceremonies unless you are tying the cords yourselves.
And then your wedding day arrives, and it is everything you dreamed of.
Your Day
The Kinds of Weddings I Love to Create
My style is wonderfully versatile, which is exactly the point. No two couples are the same, so no two ceremonies should be either.
I love a grand chateau celebration with all its elegant drama, and I love intimate garden weddings with the French countryside as your backdrop. Barn weddings, beach ceremonies, woodland gatherings and weddings in favourite restaurants are all beautiful in their own way.
I particularly love incorporating symbolic elements: handfasting cords, oathing stones, sand ceremonies, unity candles. I have conducted Cornish apple cake and mead ceremonies, Maori blessings and cape ceremonies, and ceremonies drawing on cultural traditions from all over the world. If it is meaningful to you, I want to make it part of your day.
I also love working with couples where children from previous relationships, or or your shared children, are part of the celebration. Sand ceremonies work beautifully for blended families, and I will design something that makes every single person feel genuinely included.
Second marriages, following the death of a beloved spouse, are something I feel particularly passionate about. Life does not stop offering love when we have been hurt by loss. You deserve to celebrate again.
Transparent Pricing
Packages and Pricing
No two ceremonies I create are ever the same, so pricing reflects the specific elements included in your ceremony. I will spend up to 60 hours crafting and creating your unique ceremony script, coordinating with your team and preparing for your day.
Wedding ceremony fees range from €1,800 to €3,000.
This includes everything listed in the "What is Included" section above.
Optional extras, charged additionally:
Vow writing for each partner: €200 per person
Proof-reading and editing vows you have written: €50 per person
Symbolic ceremony props such as handfasting cords, candles or vases: charged at cost
A commemorative certificate for signing: charged at cost
Travel beyond 40km from my home: 45 cents per kilometre
Payment terms:
A booking fee of 50% of the total is due on booking to secure your date. The remaining balance is due 12 weeks before your ceremony, or sooner if your ceremony falls within that window. Ceremonies booked within 12 weeks of delivery require payment in full at the time of booking. All fees are non-refundable.
Please get in touch for a personalised quotation.
Passionate About Every Moment
Why Choose Susie Mae for Your Wedding
I am a trained wordsmith with a first degree in English, Speech and Drama and a career spent at the heart of some of the most important moments in people's professional lives. I know how to write something that moves people. I know how to deliver it in a way that commands the room without ever upstaging the couple at the centre of it.
By the time I stand at the front on your wedding day, I will know your story properly. Your guests will feel that, and so will you.
I am meticulous about ceremony design and choreography. I think of creating a wedding ceremony a little like conducting an orchestra: every element needs to contribute to the finale. I love nothing more than that moment at the end when I ring the celebratory bell and the whole room erupts.
My qualification from the Academy of Modern Celebrancy was awarded with scores of 98%, 95% and 90%. My mentor described my first live ceremony as showing "a lovely warm energy" and "a feeling of gravitas." I am deeply passionate about what I do.
Wedding FAQs
Do I need to have a separate legal ceremony in France as well as a celebrant ceremony?
Yes. For a marriage to be legally recognised in France, you need to have it registered with the local Mairie, and at least one partner needs to have French residency. A celebrant-led ceremony like mine is a celebratory ceremony rather than a legal one. Most couples sort the legal element either before or after their celebration, whether in France or back home. I will guide you through the legalities and everything you need to arrange.