You’ve found the château, maybe the dress, and now you’re looking for the person who will give your wedding day its look. Wedding designer, wedding decorator, scenographer: the titles vary, and so do the jobs behind them. Add a destination wedding in France, a language you may not speak and a venue you’ve visited once, and the first video call can feel like an interview where nobody quite knows who’s asking the questions.
So bring yours. Here are ten, the simplest and the most useful, with what each answer will really tell you. They work with any French wedding designer or decorator you meet, whether you’re getting married in Brittany, the Loire Valley, Provence or anywhere else in France. Myself included.
Château Domaine Le Mezo, Vannes – @sophiedelachouephotographie
1. Are you available on our date, and how long can you hold it for us?
The obvious one, and still the question couples forget to ask all the way through. A wedding designer may be free on your date today and booked three weeks from now. No professional will hold a Saturday in June indefinitely without a contract, and if another enquiry comes in for the same weekend, priority usually goes to whoever has signed.
So ask two things: is she available, and how long can she hold the date for you. A ten- or fifteen-day option is common. You’ll know how fast you need to decide, without unnecessary pressure and without nasty surprises either.
2. What does working together look like, from our first conversation to the wedding day?
Most disappointments in wedding planning come from fuzzy expectations, rarely from a lack of talent. How many meetings? Video calls or in person? A venue walkthrough together? A check-in a month before the wedding? A designer who does this regularly will describe her steps without hesitation, because she has lived them dozens of times.
What you’re listening for is a clear path you can picture yourselves walking for several months, possibly from the other side of the world. If you leave the call knowing what happens after you sign, the question has done its job.
3. How would you define what you do: designing a scenography, or setting up a selection of decor?
This is the question that changes everything, and the one almost nobody asks. Behind the words “wedding decor” live very different realities. Some vendors offer a catalogue of pieces to rent and arrange them with taste. Others design a universe from your story and build what doesn’t exist yet.
Neither approach is wrong. But they don’t cost the same, don’t take the same time and don’t give the same result. You have every right to know which one you’re buying. Listen to how she talks about her work: the words she chooses will tell you as much as her portfolio.
4. We don’t have a clear vision yet: how do you help us find it?
Rest assured, most couples arrive with a Pinterest board, three adjectives and a feeling. That is exactly the right starting point. A decorator who expects a precise brief from you is asking you to do part of her job.
A good wedding designer knows which questions bring out what you can’t put into words yet: what you love about each other, what makes you laugh, what you absolutely don’t want. Then she turns those answers into an artistic direction. If her way of getting there sounds clear to you, you’re probably in the right place.
5. Among your portfolio pieces, which ones are from real weddings and which ones are from inspirational photo shoots?
Instagram is full of gorgeous wedding-inspired photo shoots that showcase designers’ talent and creativity, but they take place without guests or a catering schedule. A real wedding, on the other hand, proves what a designer is capable of when everything has to be ready at 3:00 p.m. sharp.
Ask to see inspiration shoots to get a sense of the designer’s creativity, and ask to see real weddings – ideally the photographer’s full gallery – to see how the set design holds up over an entire day. That way, you’ll get the perfect mix of what you’re paying for.
6. Do you know our venue? If not, will you visit it beforehand?
A wedding scenography is drawn for a specific space: its ceiling heights, its light at cocktail hour, its doors too narrow for a three-metre arch. A designer who discovers the estate on set-up morning improvises. A designer who has scouted it anticipates.
If she has already worked at your château or domaine, wonderful. If not, the real question is whether a site visit is part of her service, and when. French venues, especially historic ones in Brittany and the Loire Valley, come with their quirks, and it’s better to know them before drawing anything. For couples planning from abroad, this is also where your designer becomes your eyes on the ground.
7. What’s your plan B if the weather turns on an outdoor ceremony?
Let’s be honest about the west of France: the sky has opinions. A ceremony under the trees is a dream right up until it starts raining at 2pm. You want to know that a fallback has been thought through, what it will look like, and who decides, and at what time, to move indoors.
A solid answer describes a plan B that is still beautiful, not just a plan B that is dry. If the designer already has an idea of what your ceremony decor would become in the orangery or the barn, you can breathe.
8. Will you personally be there on the day?
Depending on the size of the studio, the person who designed the project with you may be on site for installation, or hand the set-up over to her team. Both are perfectly legitimate. What matters is knowing now, rather than finding out while looking for a familiar face on the morning of your wedding.
Ask who your point of contact will be on the day, what time the team arrives and how late they stay. You’ll know who to trust, and when the moment comes, you’ll be able to let go completely.
9. What budget do you start working from?
The question nobody dares ask at the first meeting, even though it saves everyone time. A serious wedding designer knows her starting budget and will tell you without dancing around it. If your numbers don’t match, better to know before you fall in love with the project.
And if you don’t know your decor budget yet, say so. A good professional will help you understand what different ranges make possible in France, without making you feel awkward either way.
10. What exactly does your proposal include, and what stays on our side?
Knowing what’s excluded is as illuminating as knowing what’s included. Are the flowers in the quote? Furniture hire? Candles, tableware, the take-down at two in the morning? Some items sometimes stay on your side without it being obvious on first reading, and currency and travel costs can hide in the fine print of a destination wedding.
Have her detail the scope line by line. That small moment of rigour will save you plenty of “oh, I thought that was included” come spring.
In short: before choosing a wedding designer in France, check her availability, ask her to walk you through her process, understand whether you're buying a bespoke design or a rental selection, ask to see real weddings, make sure she will scout your venue, has a plan B for rain, will be there on the day, and clarify her starting budget and exactly what her proposal includes. Each question is explained below.
Want more?
These ten questions cover the essentials of what you need to know before signing a contract. But to make sure you don’t overlook anything when choosing your service provider, I’ve compiled a free guide – available in French and English – with 30 questions to ask your wedding designer before saying “yes.”
You can download it, print it out, slip it into your wedding folder, and use it with any designer, decorator, or event planner you meet.
And if there’s still a question you’re wondering about, write to me. I’ll be happy to answer it.
Célia Le Troquer, wedding designer & decor crafter · Bretagne, Pays de la Loire & toute la France
