Not sure if we've shared this with everyone so we figured we'd post. This is the Newsletter that our wedding venue: Wainwright House recently published for the Spring 2010.
When Eric and I were looking for the perfect wedding venue, we were really searching for someplace that felt meaningful and had a connection to us as a couple. Soon after our engagement, Eric decided we MUST go home to celebrate (I had just flown in from NY 3 days before we got engaged so the thought of taking another trip across the pond sounded a bit ridiculous, but those of you who know me well, know that this type of thing is exactly up my alley :) So, we went home for a whirlwind two weeks of celebrating our engagement and finding a wedding venue. In France before our trip, we began searching (via the internet b/c we were in France :)) for the perfect venue for our special day. During a random search, we found Cornerstone Caterers and found they were affiliated with Wainwright House. We viewed the site and immediately felt it was
1. too good to be true or 2. booked solid . We visited a few places just for comparison...and of course, as soon as we saw Wainwright, that was it.
So, we fell in love with Wainwright because of it's historical significance and it's beautiful location on the Long Island Sound. Once we found out that it was built after a chateau in France, we had to visit. Read below....
Thanks to Jennie and Eric
(photo, bottom right) for visit-
ing Chateau de Raincheval and
taking these wonderful photos
to remind us about Wainwright
House’s magnificent inspiration.
So to be honest, this place was not easy to find at all! We left Paris on an early Saturday morning in November and drove 250 KM to the Picardy region.
Some of the long roads we drove to find Raincheval!
Finally, a sign to show we were gettng closer!
The road leading up to Wainwright
There is not a lot of literature on the web about Wainwright as it's not actually a Chateau that people can visit. We ended up in a small town which clearly did not have Chateau Raincheval. We stopped for a bite and to get our bearings, and somehow, two hours later, we found Chateau Raincheval in all it's glory.
We stopped outside to take some photos and found the owner (it has been in his family since the 1700s)! He first was just speaking to us...he spoke no English so to try to explain to him that there was a chateau built in NY after this one was quite a feat! He went in to get his wife and they invited us in for drinks, snacks, and a tour! They shared all kinds of photos with us and we showed them the website for Wainwright in NY. They had no idea there was a look-alike in NY!
The family crest
Really old family photos
Looking at family photos with the owners Isabelle and Patrick (sitting is their neighbor who ended up being our translator)
Now on to a tour of the house....
Sitting room 
Some of the grounds
The view of the back of the house where their daughter had her wedding the day we same day we got engaged!
Us :)
Part of the barn
View of the side of the house
View of the house from the carriage house window.
The carriage house which was renovated into a beautiful apartment
Gardens in the front
View from the front of the house
With our gracious hosts, Patrick and Isabelle
Back to Paris we go!
This is so amazing! The place is beautiful and Wainwright will be even more meaningful now. The fact that your engagement and their daughters wedding day were the same is no coincidence but rather as sign from above that you are truly blessed. Can't wait to see you both in July, the count down is on. xo
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