Original subtitles

I'm Dick Strawbridge, and along with my wife Angel...

Hello!

..and our two children,

we've lived in this magnificent chateau for the past five years.

Aw, it's lovely.

It's my little corner of paradise.

SHE CHUCKLES

It's not just our home...

Woo! THEY LAUGH

..but our business.

That's a proper kiss!

And with over 1,000 chateaux in France...

Wow.

SHE GASPS My God.

Absolutely incredible.

..we're not the only Brits buying into the French fairy tale.

Do you like it? Wow. I mean, yes.

It is gorgeous.

We'll follow more daring owners...

It looks to be a massive undertaking.

..and familiar faces...

Why?

..as they battle to renovate their homes.

That is disgusting.

And we'll reveal more about our own chateau life.

That is lovely.

There'll be ups...

SHE GASPS

Sweetheart, this is beautiful.

..and downs.

What are you going to do? Not do it today?

It's going to take all day. Yeah, but there's no alternative.

But however hard the going gets...

No!

..these plucky Brits...

Oh!

..get to live the dream as custodians...

God bless France.

..of their very own castle.

Today,

a brand-new wedding venue gets an unusual last-minute makeover

for its first proper booking.

This is Gothic style, isn't it?

We don't want to see any of the foliage.

Pack up your foliage and leave.

Expectant parents battle brambles and needlework...

No!

Why's it doing that?

..to turn their medieval castle estate into an escapist retreat.

I've not had one bit of tuition on how to use a sewing machine,

this has been internet job all the way.

And chateau owners look to expand business down by the water.

I think this spot could be perfect, actually.

I just want to get straight in the river. Yeah.

The average size of the UK home is estimated at 85 square metres,

spread over five rooms.

Little wonder, perhaps,

that many Brits are discovering that across the Channel,

for the same price, they could buy their very own French castle.

A short hop from Kent to Calais is the 15-room Chateau de Dohem.

Built by a wealthy 19th century Frenchman

to mark the birthplace of his wife,

it was bought eight years ago for £600,000

by former company director Wendy.

And is run as a holiday let

and hen party business with builder husband Marcus.

I still pinch myself every morning when I wake up here,

because it is a dream.

We have to work hard for it,

because, you know, running a chateau obviously comes at a cost.

You can't own a chateau without having some kind of business plan.

Located 26 miles south of Calais,

the couple have been travelling back and forth from their home in Kent

to renovate their barn into a wedding venue,

hoping that the business

will be their ticket to living here full-time.

Cheers. Well done.

I feel both nervous and excited about the new wedding business.

I am the most massive party girl you've probably ever met.

And it's just a wonderful business to be involved in.

Everybody's happy, everybody's in love, what's not to like?

Now, after 18 months of hard graft, and Wendy's vision realised,

they've got their first booking

from a couple who want to renew their vows.

Although, there's a catch.

They have a quirky style going on, which I'm running with.

It's called steampunk.

When they told me about the theme, I went,

"Yeah, of course we can do that".

Didn't actually know what it was.

SHE CACKLES

With the couple due tomorrow, Wendy's called on daughter Leah

to help transform the ceremony space so it has a Victorian Gothic feel.

Yeah, that's not very steampunk, is it?

It won't go with the theme. No.

The white flower display that took days to create has to go.

If we can completely cover this beautiful flower wall,

and then maybe some heavier fabric

to drape either side maybe, a bit theatrical? Yeah. A bit theatrical.

Yeah. You want it like, opulent and Gothic and romantic, don't you?

Yes. Yep, that's it.

And then chairs are going to be here,

dressed with, I think, probably black again.

And then I'm thinking maybe

we can just scatter some very dark red rose petals. Yeah.

In between, just as a softener. That would be really nice. Yeah.

So, yeah, I want opulent, I want dramatic.

I want the whole thing to look completely...

.."OK, let's do this". Yeah.

With just 24 hours to get the place ready,

husband Marcus and Leah's fiance Luke's test-drive

of the new bar will have to wait.

Oh, hello. Hello. Hello.

So, we need two willing helpers.

Two dark-haired heroes.

SHE LAUGHS

Are we feeling it? Yeah.

First job is covering up Wendy's wall of silk flowers

with some black fabric, to give a more steampunk feel.

This is Gothic style, isn't it?

Yes, yes. Dark.

Industrial.

And this is lovely because it's nice and full and drapey.

We don't want to see any of the foliage. No. No.

Pack up your foliage and leave.

Curtain concealment in place, Leah has ideas to add more opulence.

If you swag it back, like that,

and then we've got some black lace table runners... Mm.

..that are not being used, that we could then

drape that round there, so it's got like a lace edge to it?

Yep, would look nice. And then you can just tie the... Tie it in a knot.

..the ruffly bit, and then, obviously, this will be...

..all drapey as well.

There, look. I think it'll be nice.

Perhaps don't go for a minute. No, no.

Do you think these clips?

Uh, hello?

Ah, lost the boys.

Looks like you're on your own, ladies.

We found this lovely voile panel.

Now, part of the steampunk theme is Gothic and black ravens.

I think it's got the right vibe going on with it.

I can't believe you didn't get some real ravens in,

to fly down the aisle with them.

With less than 24 hours to go until the big day,

it's time to pull out all the stops

and get the wedding barn dressed to impress.

Nearly 300 miles south-west

is the 19th century Chateau La Grande Maison.

With 45 rooms, it's set in a three-acre estate,

bordered by the River Dive.

It's run as a luxury guesthouse by musicians Ben and Billie,

who made the move from Brighton eight years ago with daughter Ella.

We came out here to be tighter together as a family

and spend some more time together.

We know that, at the end of the day, we are incredibly lucky.

It's an amazing space to live in.

We've got so much room, we've got land, you know. Yeah.

We're all together.

It is incredible.

Located near the Loire Valley,

they've spent the past year

transforming the last untouched room in the chateau, the old library,

to host book club weekends...

Welcome to the library.

Oh!

Well done. Cheers, Martin. Welcome. Thank you.

..and hosted Billie's brother's wedding.

It's just made the day, it's just fantastic.

Now they have plans to maximise their riverfront location

and boost rental income.

So our project this summer is gonna be outside, a glamping site.

We need to bring in more revenue, so the glamping project is going

to bring in a whole new stream of revenue.

It's also going to improve the amount of numbers

we can have for weddings and courses and events and things.

At our chateau, we made more of our moat...

Ugh!

..with two glamping domes, including one that floats.

It's gonna be amazing, they're gonna love it.

It was hard work, but it paid off.

And I've still got a little bit of the chateau,

it's not bad for a first attempt.

As part of their waterside camping area,

Ben and Billie plan to renovate the boathouse.

But, first, there's something they need to build from scratch.

I'd really like to build a pontoon,

so we've got somewhere guests can bring their boats

and launch their boats from the pontoon.

We love the water, we're water babies and we love boats. Mm.

Hopefully, other people will too.

First job is scoping out the best place to locate the planned pontoon.

The river depth varies from one metre to three metres,

and they want a spot that will also be a swimming hole.

The depth there might be a little bit shallow.

Cos it's curving on the bend, that kind of silts a little bit there.

Maybe that's too shallow. It's too shallow. Yeah.

Shallow, too far out.

Yes. Cos it needs to kind of get deep quite quickly, doesn't it?

Yeah. Yes.

That could be quite good, especially cos... Ooh, yeah, this is nice.

..here it's a bit shallow,

but if the pontoon took you out to a depth where you could swim.

It gets deep quickly at the bank, and the flow is not that bad here.

Nice place to pull the boat up.

I think this spot could be perfect, actually.

It is ideal, really, isn't it? Yeah.

I'm really excited, it's going to be fantastic.

It's going to be great, I just want to get straight in the river. Yeah.

With lots to do, Billie's relaxing dip will have to wait,

but it looks like someone else is already enjoying the water.

We've just spotted a coypu.

He's obviously got a home that's in the bank opposite,

so we can carry on with what we're doing.

Yeah, he's just out for a nice swim.

The coypu, a river-dwelling rodent found across France,

has its burrow safely away from the glamping site,

so they can get on with the next job

of making space for picnicking along the currently very overgrown banks.

It's always endless, the amount of greenery

that you've got to get rid of.

After a bit of graft, pulling up weeds

and avoiding an unwelcome plunge with the mower...

Don't go in the water.

..the way's cleared to start thinking about construction of their jetty.

We've never built a pontoon before, so this is the first time. Yeah.

Give it a go, see what happens.

If it floats, it's a success, if it sinks, it's a failure.

Yeah.

I know which outcome I'd prefer.

Coming up...

Parents-to-be aim to combine chateau business...

That's really good fun.

..with pleasure.

The difficulty now will be getting him to refocus

on the work that needs doing.

And Wendy and Marcus's wedding barn transformation

inspires more surprising proposals.

It does looks great, yeah.

I'd get married under that. Yeah.

Luke!

In the wooded and mountainous countryside of south-east France

stands the medieval Chateau des Rosieres.

Dating to the 13th century, and set in a 130-acre wooded estate,

its towers once warded off invaders, but three years ago,

yoga teacher and writer Amy and her husband Marc, a French farmer,

decided to take the place on.

CHICK CHIRPS

Hello, squeaker!

It was just magical.

It was the setting was stunning, in the valley.

We knew as soon as we saw it that we wanted to spend

the rest of our lives here, so, I think...

I think that's the plan.

And it really feels like home. Yeah.

The couple are located an hour and a half's drive from Lyon

and are expecting their first child in a few months.

So to start generating an income to pay for their extraordinary home,

Amy's come up with a plan to offer yoga retreats.

Although I'm a yoga teacher, I have never run a yoga retreat centre.

They've borrowed money to fund the epic task of renovating

the derelict coach house into a cafe,

and the barn into a yoga studio.

So it's... It's a bit of a gamble.

He's amazing, because he trusts my vision.

And I'm the one who wakes up in the middle of the night,

sweating and panicking.

So far, they've used timber from their estate as a beam

for the mezzanine level in the barn...

You can start to see what it's going to look like,

which I'm really pleased about.

..and they've oiled windows for the cafe

and had the stone walls pointed with traditional mortar.

They used lime, and it comes up really beautifully.

It just brightens it up.

As it will be months before work is finished,

Amy's turning her attention to landscaping a meditation area

high up on their 130-acre estate, overlooking their chateau.

That means Marc heading 20 minutes up hilly terrain to clear a part

of the least accessible and rather overgrown section of their land.

Rather than do that, he's talked Amy into an added investment...

..to reach the parts other vehicles can't.

He got around me with this one.

Because, at the moment, it would take you about four hours

to walk around the property, and we need to be able to clear paths

and things for the retreat centre.

They are incredible, they can climb over anything.

As Amy is pregnant,

landscaping the mediation space will all be down to Marc.

At least, that's the plan.

The difficulty now will be getting him to refocus on the work

that needs doing and not finding an excuse to go out in his quad.

That's really good fun.

Marc's keeping on track with the project

and using the quad car to reach the ground that needs clearing.

Here we are.

We have a beautiful view all over the valley,

so it's a really nice and peaceful place.

It feels like being alone in the world.

Before Amy can give their guests peace of mind on guided mediations,

Marc has to deal with the headache of decades of prickly undergrowth.

This bit of land hasn't been maintained in over 30 years,

it's completely covered in brambles.

Marc starts strimming to clear away enough of the dense vegetation

to make way for group seating.

These are all sloe bushes,

and are the most horrible thing you can get when you need to clear.

It's a tough job, made even tougher by the summer heat.

It's ten past nine, it's already horribly hot...

..but I need to get on a bit more.

Luckily, Marc gets to play with the new quad's winch as he uses

it to do the heavy lifting on the larger branches.

It's attached, let's see if it pulls now.

After a few hours of hard work by man and machine,

the meditation clearing is starting to take shape.

Then we'll install benches and make it nice and tidy.

There may still be lots to do,

but who wouldn't feel Zen looking at that view?

400 miles north, at Chateau du Dohem, the pressure's

on for Wendy and Marcus to get the newly-completed wedding barn dressed

for a dramatic steampunk-themed vow renewal tomorrow.

This is a work in progress. I've never...

Never been seen before.

Never been seen before and, yes,

it's a little bit of creative play, really.

While it's curtains for mum and daughter, Leah's fiance Luke,

a plumber by trade, is working on some props to set the stage.

I got asked to make a nice candelabra out of copper,

when they found out what the theme was.

Just got to basically make an opposite version

of this one that I made earlier.

A few valves on it, and it should look and fit the theme.

I'm getting there. Oh!

I just came to see how you were getting on.

This is amazing. Yeah. I'm loving it.

And on this one, we'll have a different kind of valve.

Look at these. OK. Good.

Doesn't matter what it does, does it? No. No.

Don't have to explain it to you?

Not a clue, doesn't matter what it does, it's decorative. That's it.

This is really seriously good work.

Well done, future son-in-law.

Leah's also asked her fiance to create a steampunk centrepiece.

Luckily, I'm engaged to a plumber, so Luke kindly makes me

lots of crazy things out of copper pipe.

Instead of a traditional wedding arch,

this will be the backdrop for the couple to renew their vows.

This is going to go up here.

I think it looks fantastic.

Is it central?

It is, yeah.

It is central.

It's lovely, isn't it?

How good does that look?

It looks amazing.

I know we did it, but...

Not saying you're good or anything, but...

Not, like, bigging myself up, but that looks great, doesn't it?

Yeah, it does look great. Yeah.

I'd get married under that. Yeah?

Luke?!

Not sure Luke clocked that!

From where the guests are going to be, it looks fabulous. Yeah! Yeah.

Yep. I think you should leave it like this all the time.

As the rest of the steampunk trimmings get put into place,

the barn's transformation is taking shape.

Very excited. Very excited.

These cogs look cute.

Oh, good.

I've got some red rose petals that I think I'm going to

sprinkle between, just to make, like, a little soft pathway

onto the stage in front of the...

..pentagon?

Octagon. Octagon? Hexagon? Mum!

I'm not very mathematically minded. Count your sides.

Casual scatter, yeah?

It literally is a transformed space

that does have a theatre feel about it.

Fingers crossed it's to the couple's taste,

and will help build the chateau's reputation for future bookings.

Nearly 300 miles south-west, at Chateau La Grande Maison,

after clearing the riverside for their luxury glamping area,

Ben and Billie now need to construct the floating pontoon.

OK. Oh, wow, it's a treasure trove in here, isn't it?

To keep the cost down, they're hoping to source

most of the materials from the chateau's woodshed.

Aladdin's cave of junk. Yeah, wooden junk.

These are various pallets from having tiles delivered.

It would be handy if we have two exactly the same size. Yeah.

That's 100. These two, I reckon.

They've come up with a plan to use two wooden pallets as the

frame of the pontoon. Now they want something to keep it afloat.

I was chatting to a guest this morning at breakfast who knows a bit

about buoyancy, and he reckons one litre of polystyrene

will hold up 10kg. Mmm-hmm?

This polystyrene here, this was left over from some

insulation in the library, and what we could do is cut them

into strips that fit exactly inside the pallet.

Yeah, sounds good.

So use the pallet as a frame.

We could screw two pallets together and then actually go

and buy some garden decking cladding that's all wood treated,

and actually then clad the whole thing in timber. Right.

Right, so that will look smart even though underneath,

it's just, you know, upcycled junk?

Upcycled junk, yeah.

Packing the pallets with polystyrene will make them buoyant,

but they need to measure up outside so Ben can calculate

if the pontoon will float with people on it.

Tell you what, I'll carry this, you carry the pallets. OK.

Ben measures up and works out how much weight

the pontoon could support.

Roughly 173kg.

I think we're OK.

Yeah, that would be all right.

Yeah, that's two people.

Next job is cutting the polystyrene to fit inside the pallets.

Do you know what, though, can I be somewhere else?

Because the sound of polystyrene being cut is, like, the worst sound.

OK, you go and get changed.

Ben saws the polystyrene to size safely out of Billie's earshot.

After putting everything together to test it fits,

he's come up with another idea to make sure the platform stays afloat.

We still needed to think of some buoyancy. Yeah.

So these are some fenders we used to have on our old boat.

So they will be adding additional buoyancy.

We could put two either side.

Right.

It already looks elegant, as well, I have to say.

Oh, that's going to be so nice!

I think it looks so smart already.

I think guests are going to love it, as well. Yeah, I think so.

I think they're really, really going to love it. Mmm.

Yeah, good. I love it! Fantastic.

Ben's got Billie's seal of approval, but he still needs to screw

the whole thing together and see how it fares on its maiden voyage

before they'll know if this project holds water.

Coming up...

Getting ready to host her first meditation group

sees Amy spill the beans...

I knew that was going to happen!

Why didn't I just get a funnel?!

..and preparations for the launch booking of their wedding

business sees no half measures for Wendy.

Never one to go by the book, me!

SHE LAUGHS

In the Ardeche region of south-east France, three months later,

Marc's now created a clearing for a meditation space

where Amy will host their first group today.

Hope Amy's happy with that.

Pregnant Amy has invited her local hiking group to take part

in a trial run, so they can start taking more bookings soon

to offset some of the build costs of the retreat.

There we go.

She still needs to complete comfy seating to use up in the clearing.

I'm going to attempt to make meditation cushions

so that people can sit on the logs without getting really numb bums.

Clock ticking, Amy needs to sew and stuff seven cushions.

I have not had one bit of tuition on how to use a sewing machine,

this has been Internet job all the way.

LAUGHING: This is hopeless!

The idea is that Amy will today be leading the group

into a place of calm relaxation.

LAUGHING: No.

It's not picking up from the bottom.

Why is it doing that? It's not catching!

So Amy needs to keep any beginner's nerves in check

and avoid getting stressed.

They're going to be big squidgy things people sit on,

so hopefully, it's not going to be too noticeable!

Downstairs, Marc has other ideas

on how to add relaxation to the evening.

So, what are we going to have?

This one will do, let's get two.

Amy's brief for group refreshment is hot chocolate,

but Marc's mulled that over and come up with a plan of his own.

I need to try the wine to make sure I serve them something good.

He hopes spiced wine will give the guests a more warming option.

Mm, that's not bad.

Second bottle, I need to try this one as well, just in case.

I've heard that before!

He's not forgotten pregnant Amy isn't drinking, though.

I'll prepare a cocoa for her, as well.

Remaining calm, Amy's managed to complete her first cushion cover

and is ready to fill it with something she's researched online.

So apparently, buckwheat hulls

provide the best stuffing for these things.

It's nice not to have to use plastic.

SHE GASPS

I KNEW that was going to happen.

Why didn't I just get a funnel?

Testing her inner peace,

she now has the added job of gathering up spilt stuffing.

I have three important tools -

a jug, a funnel, and a chocolate biscuit.

Everything's easier after a biscuit break.

Well, there you go, that's just right.

And Amy's got an added ingredient to encourage a meditative state.

I'm going to put some of the lavender from our garden inside it

so it smells nice.

Lavender is often used to aid relaxation.

Look at that beautiful cushion.

However, with six more cushions to stuff and stitch

before the group arrives in an hour and a half, let's hope

Marc and Amy can retain the calm vibe their guests are looking for.

400 miles north, it's the day of the steampunk vow renewal

at Wendy and Marcus's recently transformed wedding venue,

and there's last-minute catering to do

before the couple and their guests arrive.

I'm in a rush.

I'm just putting this coq-au-vin together very quickly

because I want to pop it in the slow cooker

and I've literally got about ten minutes and the guests are arriving.

Wendy's French chicken casserole calls for wine.

Lots of it.

That's it.

Never one to go by the book, me. SHE LAUGHS

She's no time for measuring when time is of the essence.

About three tea...tablespoons.

That's the spirit.

The heat will burn off the alcohol in this brandy,

leaving the flavour behind.

Just time for some finishing touches outside the chateau.

I've got a couple of last-minute bits I wanted to do out in the yard

just prettying up some of the bay trees,

and that's it, we're there and ready.

Right. Yeah, they should be here any second.

Oh, that looks nice.

Today is actually really important for us,

because it's our first paid-for wedding vow renewal

and whilst it's only small, it's important for us to get it right.

I hope they like

what we've done with the theme.

They gave us the theme and we kind of picked it up

and ran with it a little bit and...

Oh, look, here they are, now.

Oh, my goodness, here they are!

Oh, let's put a quick bit of lippy on.

OK, I'm ready!

Best face forward to greet couple Janet and Roger,

who've made the trip from Kent

to renew their vows on their 30th wedding anniversary.

Hello. Hello.

You all right? Toilets, drinks, this way, come in.

While the guests enjoy a break after their journey,

Wendy is keen the couple don't see inside the wedding barn

until the time of the ceremony.

No peeking in the barn.

With the coast clear, the couple's daughters, Adel and Karina,

take their harps through to the wedding barn.

They have an added romantic surprise planned for Mum and Dad.

So, I don't want your mum and dad to see in here.

This is top-secret, all right?

In you come, girls.

Yeah, it looks lovely in here. Do you love it? Yes!

THEY LAUGH

Thumbs up from the younger generation.

After 18 months spent creating this space, then customising it

with steampunk styling, let's hope their mum and dad

are just as approving.

You know, it's their 30th wedding anniversary, so it's a special one.

And love the special song Adel and Karina

have composed for the occasion.

It's called "Treasure Chest"

and because they're having a steampunk-themed wedding renewal,

we were trying to put in the steampunk vibes and hopefully,

when they hear it, they'll love that.

Nearly 300 miles south-west, by the Loire Valley,

two weeks after Ben and Billie did the test assembly

of their floating pontoon...

Great.

..Ben's measuring up wooden batons to hold the two pallets together,

ready to get on the river today.

They're going to help bridge the gap between the two pallets,

so we're now ready to start screwing them together

and this will be the first stage of strengthening the two pieces.

Doing everything themselves means they keep the cost down.

You do tend to spend a lot of money owning a chateau,

so a project for 50 Euros is pretty good going.

He's using strips of reclaimed wood as the batons

to join his two polystyrene-filled pallets together.

With the pallets connected, he has one big platform

and just has to screw down the decking,

and they're ready to fit the final plank.

So, this is the devil.

On any boat, the devil would be the hardest piece to fit

on the edge of the boat and that's where the expression,

"Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea" came from.

Oh, Ben, you salty old sea dog, you!

Now to see how she fares on her maiden voyage.

It's in.

It's in.

Woohoo!

It's floating.

Hey! That's fantastic.

Yes, Ben.

Go on, then.

SHE LAUGHS

Oh!

Yay!

Woo!

See ya!

Having passed the float test with flying colours,

Ben wants to check how stable the new pontoon will be for guests.

Wow, that's confidence.

It looks stable.

It actually floats even better than I was expecting.

It looks really buoyant.

That's worked out perfectly.

Really happy with that.

But they still have to find out

if the platform will hold the two passengers Ben calculated for.

Do you want to come aboard? Yes, I think I will.

Fingers crossed Ben's done his sums right.

I'm coming aboard.

Still afloat. That's a good sign.

It would be so embarrassing if my weight made it sink!

I'd be regretting that last baguette.

It's all going swimmingly.

This was a great idea, wasn't it?

Well done, Ben, this was a fantastic idea.

Ah, it's heaven.

It's a lovely spot for guests to spend a summer's day,

but this is just the beginning of their glamping plans.

Part of the waterfront project is also to include the boatshed.

And the idea is that when you take the boats out of the water,

you take them back to the boatshed...

It used to be a sheep shed.

This is another project that starts with a zero budget.

We'll just throw it together from what we can find

and hopefully it will just look like it's been thrown together.

Exactly. I think we can do that.

We can do that, we're good at that.

Looks like there's a lot of hard work ahead.

Coming up...

The moment of truth for Amy and Marc's meditation space.

IN FRENCH:

And the big day arrives for Wendy and Marcus' wedding barn.

Welcome to your steampunk wedding. Oh, my goodness!

It was so emotional, it's ridiculous!

Marc and Amy's first guided mediation.

It's a trial to give them crucial feedback

ahead of launching their business.

With guests due any minute, expectant mum Amy is still

busy completing the aromatherapy cushions their guests will sit on.

It does smell nice, actually. The lavender really comes through.

So it's over to Marc to meet and greet.

Marie-Helene. Bonjour

Amy? Yeah?

They are starting to arrive. How long?

Oh, I reckon I've got another ten minutes or so. OK.

While Amy completes her last stitch in time...

..Marc's job is to dress the mediation clearing

uphill from the chateau.

He's loading up the quad so he can drive ahead of the guests.

Just need the mulled wine, cocoa, and we're good to go.

Amy's getting her group to relax,

leading them on a 20-minute stroll that takes in parts of the

magnificent estate, which was off limits to locals in recent years.

Already at the chosen spot,

Marc adds Amy's finished handiwork to the seating area.

I'm just going to put the cushions on each log.

It looks really good.

HE EXHALES

That's already quite relaxing.

SHEEP BELLS RING

The sheep bells.

Well, Marc's chilled.

Now time to see what the group make of the stunning vista

over their local area.

Oh, it looks really good. Marc's done a really good job.

It looks beautiful, my cheri.

As the sun sets, Amy wants to make sure their guests are cosy.

She's been working on her French - a crucial skill

if she wants to guide local groups like this one.

These beautiful surroundings should help the most stressed to

unwind, but Marc can't resist checking how it's all going.

A thumbs-up from their first mediation group,

but Amy spotted Marc didn't follow procedure.

It didn't go unnoticed that somebody had their eyes open.

SHE LAUGHS

Time for one of Marc's soothing hot drinks.

They can breathe a sigh of relief, celebrating another step forward

towards building their chateau retreat business.

I think it went quite well, actually.

I think people enjoyed the authenticity of the place.

We've been working so hard for the last year

and this is one of those things,

we've just arrived at a point where we can go, "We've made progress."

I've actually done a bit of what I enjoy, really enjoy,

which is making people feel peaceful and calm.

That's one climb completed, but with a baby on the way

and the studio and cafe to finish before they can offer

full retreats, there's still a mountain of work ahead.

400 miles north, with less than an hour to go until the new

wedding barn's first official booking, Wendy's giving husband

Marcus instructions on assembling platters for a post-ceremony buffet.

You can do constructing things, cos you are a builder.

I like your logic, Wendy!

Show me how pretty the first one looks... Right, OK.

..and then I will follow your lead. OK.

One of those little tomatoes, a little bit of leafage...

Leafage and the mozzarella. ..and a little bit of mozzarella.

There we go, look at that. Ta-da! OK. Got it.

That's your job. It is now quarter to one,

and I believe their ceremony, they want it for about half past one,

so we are rushing these, and we've still got to get ourselves into...

Our costumes. ..our costumes, as well.

And, of course, Wendy and Marcus won't be alone

in dressing for the occasion.

Janet is getting steampunked up,

ready for her 30th anniversary vow renewal.

The ribbon's missing. Laces the whole dress up.

Ties up the back. It's a corset dress.

Where's it gone?

Well, the guy at the cleaners, he mustn't have put it in.

It was, like, a long...

I thought Dad had it the other day. Long bootlace.

Janet and husband Roger need a new plan to stop her steampunk

style coming undone.

Actually, I brought some lace,

and what we can probably do is cut it to make it into ribbon.

But if you come abroad, you need to check your outfit first!

Disaster averted, the dress can be securely laced up, and thoughts turn

to expectations of how Wendy and Marcus have prepared their venue.

We've done a lot of planning.

We've seen the barn as it was, but not as it is.

So, I don't know. I am sure it will make us laugh.

I'm sure it'll be just lovely.

Time to top the look off.

I didn't think I'd get to 75 and dress like this.

At the wedding barn, everything's ready to go,

including a steampunk-style cake, and some bubbly on ice.

Now to see how it goes down with the first couple to

celebrate at Wendy and Marcus' newly completed and themed venue.

Welcome to your steampunk wedding.

Oh, my goodness!

Now, today is all about sharing and rejoicing with your girls,

and I'm now going to invite them both to sing for you.

# You hold the key to my soul, you hold the key

# You hold the key to my soul, you hold the key

# You have my heart and love

# You hold the key to my soul, you hold the key. #

Oh, that was lovely!

Janet and Roger, it is with the greatest of pleasure that I

declare your marriage to be renewed, and definitely to be celebrated.

After 18 months of hard slog preparing their wedding barn,

Wendy and Marcus have successfully hosted their first booking,

but Wendy's finding this new side of business

to be a real tear-jerker.

Your girls should come with a label on the tin saying,

"May cause you to cry a lot."

I know! Oh, Janet. I know. It was just lovely.

I got so emotional, it's ridiculous.

How can I do weddings if I get so emotional?

It was just lovely, it was special and lovely,

and I really need to pull myself together.

This chateau, built by a lovestruck Frenchman to mark the

birthplace of his wife, is expanding its romantic tradition, as Janet and

Roger secure a padlock to the entry gates as a memento of their love.

Aah!

Thank you. It was so lovely. Good.

So special, and the barn is so beautiful. Oh!

Hats off to you, Wendy and Marcus.

And, as they say in France, "Let them eat cake."

Hurray!

I think today has been a resounding success.

They weren't expecting half of what we'd done there.

Not at all.

This was our first paying event in our barn.

They loved it, they absolutely loved it.

They couldn't have been more complimentary.

It's been 18 months in the making - a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

We've tried to promote it...

Sweat, you. Tears, me. Yeah.

Hosting weddings can be a lovely part of owning a chateau,

and Wendy and Marcus have shown they can do it -

with or without a steampunk twist.

I wish you both luck with future bookings,

and achieving your dream of living here full time.

We now have something that we can go out and market,

and looking forward to it. Yeah.

You get to dress up a lot more. Yeah, every weekend.

Every weekend. Oh, joy(!)

Next time...

I heard something cracking then.

..Ben and Billie get to work on their boathouse.

I don't think you should be underneath. OK.

Just to be on the safe side.

In northern France, the language barrier becomes a brick wall...

..tempers fray at Chateau de Rosieres...

I didn't realise that was going to take two hours.

Yeah, I think Amy's a bit stressed.

..and over at our place, it's time to plan for next season.

One of the best things is our 39 fruit trees.

A couple of years from now, we'll pay for our chateau with fruit.

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