Dear all,



Welcome to our virtual wedding environment! If you are reading this then there is a good chance you will be coming to our wedding on July 17th 2013 at the wonderful La Perdrix in France... in that case ...hooray.
Apologies for using social media to invite you to our wedding but it helps get the ball rolling while you await your printed invite, and it does have the benefits of speed and links so difficult with mail and papyrus.

This site will help give you all the information regarding the event, venue and location and handy tips on how to get here. And I'll keep updating it as the event draws near with other relevant  information and news.   The Facebook event listing will let us know if your coming, so please respond and also  you can  see who else is coming in case you want to share travel or accommodation.

We can't wait to see you here, and celebrate with us in our fool hardy romance!


Ingrid & Johnny

Although La Perdrix has many rooms, sadly there will not be enough room to house all our guests as the rooms have been allocated to family and those involved in organising the wedding. So here are a few options regarding accommodation in the area.
It being a holiday destination for predominantly British tourists  we have scheduled the wedding to happen before the school summer holidays in Britain so that travel and accommodation are a bit cheaper and more available.

We also have some friends who rent gites locally, specifically aimed for couples, which keeps the cost down. Also some local friends have spare rooms for waif and strays at reasonable costs and  ideal for short stay, as most gites are  a minimum week stay. There are also a number of lovely chambres d'hotes which offer affordable overnight accommodation nearby. Maybe people might be keen to gite share with others coming for the wedding.
Another popular choice is camping, there are some lovely campsites around, one 3km away in Riberac and another favourite of ours is in in Auberterre by the river. Have a look at the locality page on this website to get a flavour of the area. And follow the links to the various options below....you might want to make La Perdrix a short stop on a traveling tour of the area,  and  for that we have limited space for camping  on the property, but we will be having a marquee, so it is pretty limited, unless you are adept at sleeping on a hill.

Camping

Camping in France is a very sophisticated affair, and a very popular choice as it is low cost  (on average 15 euros for two people tent and car per night)  The sites are generally in areas of incredible natural beauty and  are very well equipped. However they do also book up in the summer, so it is advisable to book your pitch in advance. Below are three fairly local and very nice sites, just  click on the images to link through to their sites. Bear in mind you will need your own  transport as these won't be served by public transport.

Gites

Gites might be a good option for people who want to stay for a week and have a bit of a holiday in the area. Most holiday lets run from  Saturday to Saturday, and there is a vast range of them in the area. Two good sites for perusal is Owners Direct or Holiday Lettings.
Our friends have recently renovated their house in St Sulpice de Romangnac and it comprises of 3 cottages, it can be used for self contained  accommodation  for 3 couples or might be good for a larger group to share,  as it has some large rooms, it is lovely and it is 5km away which is  as close as  neighbours get in this part of the world.  Their website is www.planchecottages.com  and if you are interested in Planche Cottages either as couple or as a larger group let us know or contact Jane directly,  but be sure to let her know you are part of the wedding party, as it is reserved for our wedding guests for that week. We have another good friend Sara who also has beautiful gites,  these are for couples it's about a 15-20 min drive from La Perdrix in a stunning part of the country, you can view her gites here  by clicking on  Bouteilles St Sebastien

Chambre D'Hotes

Otherwise known as B&B's, Chambre d'Hotes offer a range of affordable accommodation in the area, ideal for those just staying a night or two. There is quite a few to choose from but we have had good reviews from previous wedding guests who stayed at Chambres Florence  (pictured left) in Riberac. Another nice one is Repos a Riberac
A cheaper alternative in Riberac is Chambre de La Fontaine

L'Apres Wedding...July 20th - 27th

For those who may want to extend there stay at La Perdrix,  or for those who may be staying elsewhere for the time of the wedding but want to come and stay at La Perdrix for a while, we have removed the house from our booking schedule for the week after the wedding by popular request, so from the 20-27th July  we can fill it with friends and start our  married life in a fine fashion. We have already  got people staying on in Cluny and a few in the main house but have some rooms left. Sadly we have to charge a nominal 30 euro fee per room  per night to cover some of our costs as we are losing a peak season week, but it works out as a bargain for that time of year in this area...and it is guaranteed good times! It will be communal cooking via a kitty system for food.  Let me now if you would like me to reserve you a room during this week. Book early as there is limited availability.

 To Drive or Fly?

For those of you who have to travel a distance ( and that'll be most of you... )  the big question is whether to drive or fly....
For those whose preference is flying  the nearest airport is Bergerac 55 mins from La Perdrix.
Bergerac airport operates flights with  with the salubrious airline Ryan Air from Bristol, Luton, Stansted, East Midlands and for the more exotic of you Marrakech.

As many of you will be travelling from Wales please note the Bristol flight runs on Tuesdays Thursdays and Saturdays...which is why we have planned the wedding for Wednesday so you can make a quick turnaround if needs be.
Watch out for sales on the site...the prices can vary hugely!

Ryanair also runs flights to Bordeaux airport 1 hour 20 mins drive from La Perdrix...this will suit those guests coming from Ireland...as there is a flight directly from Cork, which has been recorded as the nosiest flight in history.
There are other airlines which operate to both Bergerac and Bordeaux... to access their sites please click on the carrier that best suits your location and social class!
 

For those of you who think driving through France is one big romantic adventure.....there are a number of options....

... one is  the very small cruise holiday known as the channel crossing or for those who are aqua phobic and love to drive...the Euro tunnel

Coming by car ferry has as many options as France has ports...too many to list here ...for those who like cruising try Portsmouth -  to either le Havre, St Malo or Caen, for those who prefer driving and less time at sea try Dover - Calais or Newhaven - Dieppe.  We regularly use LD lines and find it good price wise, but more recently we have used the tunnel because of cost and reliability, (but it is  then an 8 hour drive to La Perdrix, some like to stay in Tours en route.)


Click on the links below depending on your seafarabilty.

For those who have a bleaker image of driving through France there is always the option of taking the train,  our nearest train station is Mussidan 20 km from La Perdrix, is between Angouleme and Brodeaux. Angouleme is serviced by the TGV can be a fast option from Paris, should you prefer to fly or train it to there.

Travelling when in France

Please note there is very little or no public transport in this area. There are taxis which are expensive  need to be booked in advance as some are also ambulances... I kid you not.
So if you need transportation to and from the airport to your accommodation  or would like to see some of the area while here it might be advisable to hire a car, all airports have car hire and have good rates with specific airlines. Or we can arrange for local people to collect  and drop you off at airport or plane for a smaller cost. We will have two MPV's here to help with transfers but won't necessarily be available or able to do them all, so please check when you are booking you travel, so we can get it sorted early.