Castle Wedding Guide

Château des Condé Outside

Welcome to the kingdom of the Princes and Princesses of Condé. Imagine these historic walls to the south of Paris, as the setting for your Wedding Reception room: for one night, perhaps two, time stands still beneath a star-studded Renaissance sky in celebration of your marriage.

Describe to us the hire room wedding of your dreams and we will set it to music. Sheer delight is all around you: from the Grande Galerie, a masterpiece by Pierre Lescot, to the lounges, from vaulted 12th-century cellars and the Salle des Tentures to the Watchtower and the Maroccain Pavilion with its stunning water feature… Luxury is all around you. Simply choose your season. Do you prefer autumn’s mellow tones, or the shadow and light of winter ? Summer guests will revel in the cool of imposing historic halls for burgundy wedding.

Plan to spend two hours exploring this outstanding estate in preparation for exclusive use of a land without constraints – either in terms of time or space. Your big night can run from dusk until daybreak; the thousand torches licking at the evening air will only go out with the dawn in an exclusive rental château.

The Grande Galerie

The Grande Galerie can be seen as the heart of your wedding celebrations. Its vaults have been the silent witness of many a scene. Steeped in history, they also epitomise the intuition of Renaissance master architect Pierre Lescot, who captured the most graceful lines of neo-classical architecture here.

Orbs of garden-fresh roses seem to float on air, caressed by the rhythm of the music and kaleidoscopic colours produced by discretely placed spotlights. Torchlight from the grounds flickers in through the windows, causing shadows to dance on the walls. Can you see yourself heading to the dance floor to open the ball?

An alchemy works its magic here; the pyrotechnical effects in the grounds seem to live a second life in the drapes swathing the hall.

Château des Condé Galerie

The Salle des Tentures

Adjoining the Grande Galerie is the Salle des Tentures, the setting for your wedding supper. Tables arranged as per your table plan, and set with linen and flowers, glisten in the soft, flickering light cast by candles. Overhead, an unbelievably romantic trompe l’œil spans the 400 square meters of the ceiling, bearing no small resemblance to the Camp du Drap d’Or – or Camp of the Golden Drapes – erected in 1520 to accommodate a meeting between Kings Henry VIII of England and François I of France.

Your caterer may use the adjoining preparation area. The Salle des Tentures covers a surface area of 230m2 and can seat over 200 guests. One of the advantages of holding a banquet at Château des Condé is that it comprises two grand and historic halls for you and your guests to enjoy. You can host up to 100 people in one hall (Grande Galerie); 220 using two halls for the event but dining all together in the second hall (Salle des Tentures); or even 350 guests if the meal is served in both halls.

Château des Condé Tentures

The Pavilion with its Grand Bassin water feature

Within the walls of Chateau des Condé in Vallery, France, nestles an enchanting corner of the Orient. An exotic riad provides the perfect backdrop for more intimate celebrations: the eve of the wedding, a birthday, a henna ceremony, a bar mitzvah or simply brunch.

Lanterns project chiselled arabesque shadows onto walls decorated with oriental paintings. The playful music of the fountain and the softness of heavy rugs plunge you into the dreamy nonchalance of a Thousand and One Nights.

A tajine of candied lemon, pastillas, couscous and other Moroccan specialities can all be on the menu. Later on, a belly dancer will capture you in the spell of her skilful undulations. Then breathe in heady fragrances during a stroll around the rose gardens. Break away from the crowd to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere around the pond with only muffled echoes of the party filtering through the moucharabiehs.

Château des Condé Pavilion

Accommodation

If you are holding a celebration in the Chateau or a wedding in Vallery, 28 rooms are at your disposal in Chateau des Condés. There are also fourty other rooms and holiday cottages in the village – principally at “La Margottière”, the former Chateau farm, located 300m from the Grounds. We can heartily recommend the warm welcome you will receive from its owners. Altogether, there is enough accommodation for a hundred guests, sparing them the task of driving at night. A little further on, located less than 10km way, is Chateau de Chaumont offering 36 sumptuous rooms and “Le Fief de la Renauderie” 3 mn from Condé.

But let’s get back to Chateau des Condés and its wedding receptions. 16 double and triple rooms in the Renaissance part of the building each reflect a different key figure who lived in Vallery. Discover “Charlotte de Montmorency” with a canopy cascading from the rafters down to the bed, “Pierre Lescot” glittering with crystal baubles that capture the eclecticism of the Renaissance, the Falconer’s room (”La Chambre du Fauconnier”), the ivy suite (”La Suite au Lierre”), “Louis XIII”, “Tulips” and the spacious “Grand Condé” which the bride may favour for slipping into her wedding gown.

The medieval section of the Chateau houses 4 double rooms bearing the names of owls and other night birds that used to haunt the citadel: “Grand Duc”, “Petit Duc”, “Chouette” et “Dame Blanche”.

Château des Condé Accommodation

Château des Condé Contact information / Location

Château des Condé

89150 Vallery – France

Tel: +33 (0)3 86 97 77 00
Fax: +33 (0)1 44 07 37 70