No call centre, no automated sequence, no chasing you for weeks afterwards. The person who reads your message is the photographer who'd shoot your day.
How quickly will we hear back?
We reply to every enquiry within 24 hours, in English, with an itemised quote and a straight answer on availability. If your date is already booked we say so immediately rather than leaving you waiting. There's no obligation attached to a quote and no deposit is requested until you've read the contract.
What to tell us
The more of this you can include, the more useful our first reply will be.
For a wedding
- The date, and whether it's confirmed
- The venue, or the villages you're looking at
- Whether there's a mairie ceremony, a church, a celebrant, or a combination
- Rough guest numbers and what time dinner is planned for
- Whether you want the whole day or just part of it
For a family, maternity or newborn session
- How many of you, and the children's ages
- Your due date, if there is one
- Whether you'd rather be outdoors or at home
- Which part of the week works — weekday afternoons are often the calmest
For corporate work
- The site, and whether access requires a badge or a safety induction
- How many people, if it's headshots
- What the images are for: careers page, LinkedIn, press, trade show
- Your deadline, and whether you need same-day delivery
Don't worry about getting it perfect. Two lines with a date in them are enough to start.
Why we ask what time dinner is
Because a French wedding day is shaped differently from a British or American one, and that shape decides how many hours you need. The mairie ceremony falls in the early afternoon. The vin d'honneur runs a full two hours from around six. Guests sit down at half past eight, dinner stretches past midnight with speeches between courses, and the first dance often lands after the pièce montée.
So the honest answer to "is half a day enough?" depends on your timeline. Coverage from €950 that ends at seven in the evening stops before the reception has properly begun. Tell us your dinner time and we'll say plainly which package fits, even when that means quoting you less than you expected. The full running order is on our wedding page.
Paperwork at the mairie, and when to contact us
Only the civil ceremony at the town hall makes a marriage legal in France, and the slot the mairie gives you fixes everything else in the day — including us. Three details catch foreign couples out, so build them into your planning.
- Residency. One of you, or one of your parents, needs 30 days' continuous residence in the commune before the banns can go up. This is why many couples marry legally at home and hold a symbolic ceremony here instead. No venue in the region finds that odd.
- Consular documents. Foreign nationals are generally asked for a certificat de coutume and a certificat de célibat, plus a birth certificate issued within the last six months. Allow three to four months.
- The calendar. Banns are posted for ten days. No mairie marries anyone on a Sunday or a public holiday, and small communes often sit only on Saturday mornings.
None of this needs settling before you write to us. Send the date you're aiming for, tell us the mairie slot once it's confirmed, and we'll rebuild the timings around it.
Light and seasons in the southwest
Toulouse sits far enough west in its time zone that summer evenings run absurdly late — worth knowing before you fix a dinner time.
| Month | Sun sets around | What it means for a shoot |
|---|---|---|
| December-January | 17:20 | Family sessions at lunchtime; city lights by five |
| March | 19:15 | Long soft afternoons, blossom in the Tarn |
| May | 21:00 | Our first real golden hour, everything still green |
| June-July | 21:50 | Couple portraits after dinner; afternoons often above 34°C |
| September | 20:30 | Warm stone, vineyard harvest, our favourite month |
| October | 19:10 | Colour in the Lauragais, then the clocks go back |
Practical consequences: leave the middle of a July afternoon alone, plan the slot with the two of you for the hour before sunset, and treat late September and early May as the sweet spots — which is why those Saturdays go first.
Distances and drive times
Toulouse is our base and travel is included within 50 km. Beyond that it's billed at cost, and the figure appears on your quote before you sign.
| From Toulouse | Distance | Drive | Travel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blagnac, Colomiers, Tournefeuille | 8-14 km | 15-25 min | Included |
| Muret, Labège, Lauragais villages | 20-35 km | 25-40 min | Included |
| Montauban | 55 km | 45 min | At cost |
| Gaillac vineyards | 60 km | 50 min | At cost |
| Albi | 75 km | 1 h | At cost |
| Auch | 78 km | 1 h | At cost |
| Foix, gateway to the Ariège | 85 km | 1 h | At cost |
| Carcassonne | 95 km | 1 h 05 | At cost |
Days in the high Pyrenees — Ax-les-Thermes, Gavarnie, the Pic du Midi — sit outside the 100 km ring and are quoted individually, usually with an overnight stay.
We also work from a second base at Évry-Courcouronnes, south of Paris, with travel included within 50 km of it: Essonne, southern Seine-et-Marne and the southern edge of the capital. If a posting moves you north, the photographer follows.
What happens next
- You send the form. It takes two minutes.
- We reply within 24 hours with availability and an itemised quote.
- We talk — coffee in Toulouse, or a video call if you're still abroad. Weddings always get a conversation before anything is signed.
- You book. A 30 % deposit confirms the date, and the contract comes in French with an English summary of what it commits both sides to. The balance falls due on delivery.
- We plan. Timings, locations, and any calls to your venue or caterer that need making in French.
Prefer to talk?
Phone and WhatsApp both work, and a video call is usually the fastest way to sort out a wedding timeline. If you're planning from the UK or the US, say so — we'll book a call at a time that isn't three in the morning where you are.
Frequently asked questions
Will the whole process really happen in English?+
Yes. The enquiry, the quote, the contract summary, the planning call and the direction we give you on the day are all in English. We switch to French for your venue, your caterer and the mayor. You'll never need a bilingual friend to translate.
Can we book from abroad, before we've moved to France?+
Yes, and many of our couples do. Everything up to the day is handled by email and video call, and the contract can be signed electronically. We'll do the venue scout for you and send photographs taken at the hour you'll actually be there.
Can we meet before we decide?+
Of course. Weddings get a proper meeting either way, and you'll see a complete gallery from a real wedding, start to finish, not just the ten best frames. Sessions rarely need one, but you're welcome to ask.
Is the quote binding, and does it cost anything?+
Quotes are free and carry no obligation. The figure on the quote is the figure you pay — it only moves if you change the brief. Nothing is due until you've read the contract, and there is no VAT to add: we work under the French small-business exemption.
How far in advance should we get in touch?+
Weddings: 10 to 14 months for a Saturday between May and September, though cancellations free up dates, so ask anyway. Family and newborn sessions: two to four weeks' notice, or during your third trimester if a baby is involved. Corporate work often fits inside the same week.
Your details are used to answer your enquiry and nothing else — no mailing list, no sharing, deletion on request.
Send the form below and we'll come back within 24 hours — with a date, a price and a plan. If you'd rather see the numbers first, the full price list is public.
[FORM: name · email · type of shoot · date · venue or town · message]