Wedding at the Capitole de Toulouse and Halte en Cocagne in the Tarn.

Some weddings fit into a single day in a single place. Julie and William’s took two days, two ceremonies, two different areas, and a French family mixed with an American one.

It starts at L’Institut de Coiffure, a two-minute walk from the Capitole in Toulouse. Julie is getting ready, her parents by her side. A few black and white shots in the direct, graphic light of the salon.

From there, everyone crosses the square to reach the civil ceremony entrance. The Salle des Illustres is impressive even when you’ve been there before: 19th-century frescoes, gilded ceilings, painted figures on the walls looking in the same direction as the guests. Jean-Michel Lattes officiates. Couple photo in front of the façade, bouquet toss, drinks at Le Bibent on the square. Two families, two languages, one table.

Halte en Cocagne is a cluster of five bastides in the Pays de Cocagne, between Toulouse, Albi and Carcassonne. La Bélonie, chosen by Julie and William, is an 18th-century manor house with a large courtyard beneath century-old plane trees.

Preparations happen on separate sides of the house. William’s side: his groomsmen in suits, almost coordinated. Julie’s side: natural light by a window, the hand-illuminated ketubah by The Delicate Brush on the table, Atelier Camus flowers settling into place in the courtyard.

The first look takes place in the bedroom, entirely in black and white. William has his back turned, Julie enters and wraps her arms around him. When he turns around, he cries. The black and white ends when their loved ones walk in.

The ceremony is held outdoors in the courtyard, in the full Tarn sun. The glass is broken, the guests applaud. Then the cocktail hour, with South Mixology Events creations: the coco cannelle, served in a coupe glass with its smoke slowly rising.