Original subtitles

♪ ♪

That's me, Dick Strawbridge, my darling wife Angel,

and our two beautiful children.

Nearly three years ago, we up sticks for a whole new life in

France and bought this magnificent chateau.

Angel: Oh!

We've been doing it up ever since.

Oh baby, you're so strong.

Dick: Turns out, we're not the only ones.

Woman: Oh yeah, yeah.

[dishes breaking]

Woman: Oops.

Dick: Dozens of Brits are taking the plunge

to rescue these stunning buildings.

- [bang] - Woman: Oh!

What amazing colours.

We need to get on top of it.

Get on top of the goats.

Dick: In this series, we'll reveal more on how we're running

our chateau as a business--

Ah, back on dry land!

I'm still finding things that I haven't seen.

Dick:--and we'll help these daring families run theirs.

Here's to the meeting of two like-minded couples.

- Yes, cheers. - Cheers.

Dick: As they face the highs--

I'm absolutely terrified.

Dick:--and lows--

♪ ♪

It's extremely expensive.

It's financial suicide.

Dick:--of running these gorgeous buildings as everything

from B&Bs to beautiful wedding venues.

Owning a chateau isn't glamorous.

[coughing]

Woman: Anyone who thinks it is is delusional.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Dick: Today:

The stress of prepping a chateau for an opening party

takes its toll.

He lost four kilos in the last two weeks.

Four kilos is quite a lot.

Dick: But come the big night, it looks like it might bring in

some business.

- Nicole: Your wedding-- - My wedding.

- That's right. - [laughter]

I might have to talk to Martin about that.

Okay.

Dick: At one chateau, a mother disagrees with her daughter's

plan to bring in some much needed cash.

I would never have done a party like this.

Personally, absolutely not.

It's great having my mother here,

but stress levels have risen, because she's never happy

with what I'm doing.

Dick: One man's caravan renovation plans take

a backward step.

Little bit of wood to be cut out and sort of put in again but--

- [crack] - Oops, and the floor.

[laughing]

Floor needs replacing as well.

[laughing]

Dick: And a bride suffers prenuptial jitters

before her chateau wedding.

Oh my gosh.

Everyone's sitting down, not that I'm panicked

or anything now.

- Oh my goodness. - Oh yeah!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Dick: This is the 18th century Chateau d'Humières,

and it's being renovated by British designer Nicole,

and her Belgian boyfriend, Stephan.

How many rooms do we have?

No idea.

I don't think I've ever counted.

No, we were always focused on renovating them, eh?

Plus, you have a short-term memory problem.

Stephan: It's 'cause I never sleep, eh?

[Stephan chuckles]

Dick: Located in the Picardie region of northern France--

--they've been working on it for three years,

after a chance encounter in a hotel.

I was sitting in a lobby, reading a magazine--

I was like, "Ooh, there's a picture of my house."

All of a sudden, I got tapped on the shoulders,

I looked up and Nicole was standing there.

I said, "Do I know you?"

She answered, "You should because you're looking at my

house."

I'd spent several years restoring a property in the

South of France.

It was photographed in this magazine.

So I just thought, "I'll give him a tap on the shoulder."

And then we ended up as a couple over here, renovating a castle.

♪ ♪

Dick: They're now converting it to an upmarket B&B.

Needs to be generating money.

Needs to be self-financing.

Dick: They were also planning to open a tea room to start earning

some money, but after Nicole went to see my wife Angel

for some advice--

You want to be a destination place and bring 20 grand in

per month.

Dick:--she returned with some news for Stephan.

The main things that I learned is basically the bottom line is:

If we just do a tea room, it's not a good idea.

Dick: So Nicole came up with a plan.

Now we're going to be concentrating on getting the

rental spaces decorated and ready.

Dick: She wants to focus on getting a B&B guest room within

the chateau finished.

And as for the hall--

- Maybe as a breakfast room. - Exactly.

It could be perfect as a breakfast space, and then--

Also for other types of events?

- Exactly. - Or how do you see it?

- Use the room for other events. - Yeah?

It could be courses, it could be conferences.

Every other week, we'd plan a course.

Who knows?

- We have to think about that. - People can book it.

People can use the space.

Dick: So now they're rushing to get the hall--

There's been some plumbing issues,

and there are holes in the floor.

Dick:--and guest room--

Nicole: Putting up wallpaper, it's taking ages.

Dick:--ready for the summer.

Getting the electric cables into the walls to put the lighting.

Connecting all the electricity.

We're clearly not ready.

You know, we're just not.

Dick: But with their target deadline fast approaching,

their new plans have been thrown into chaos

with their application for a vital loan from the bank

rejected.

It was a complete blow which has affected how the work has been

able to progress.

Had the mortgage come through, we'd been able to have some more

people on board working faster, getting things done.

You can imagine what a hole such a place creates in your pocket.

So it's really put a lot of pressure on.

Dick: With no money to pay for extra workers,

Nicole and Stephan have had to work even harder to try and get

the hall and guest room finished.

Nicole: This is the room we're going to be renting out so that

we can have a little bit of extra income coming in.

Clearly we're not ready now.

Got some painting to do, we've got curtains to put up.

There's a load to do but we'll have it done.

We have to.

Dick: And they're making life even more difficult by throwing

a party tomorrow for friends and family to kick off their new

plans for the hall.

Nicole: This is a bit of a practice run, really.

See what kind of atmosphere we can create.

See how many people we can get to fill the space.

Ooh.

Dick: It all looks rather stressful.

Four kilos I lost already so far.

Yeah, he lost four kilos in the last two weeks.

Four kilos is quite a lot.

I mean, it's adding a bit of stress, 'cause we've had to

organize things in time, but it's worth it, I hope.

Dick: With cash short, quick fixes and easy patches are the

order of the day.

We have this blank spot in between, but a big difference of

height so we're just filling this up with concrete,

and levelling it out.

And we have a temporary floor for when people come,

otherwise they might fall down.

Dick: Job done, but Stefan's looking exhausted.

♪ ♪

Last night, we got three hours of sleep and now it's just

getting through the day.

Each one you see, you just have to sort it out, get it done,

trying to survive until tomorrow evening, actually.

Dick: But with just a day to go before the party,

there's still a mountain of work to do.

♪ ♪

Dick: This is the 16th century Chateau de Lalande,

home to Stephanie Jarvis.

Stephanie Jarvis: I always knew that I wanted to buy a chateau.

I think probably from the moment I was reading fairy tales as a

child, it was really clear that's what I wanted to do.

Dick: Located in central rural France, she and her friend Nick

bought this place together after pooling all their resources.

I had a two-bedroom flat in London, he also had a

two-bedroom flat in London.

He said it would be way more fun if we sold both our flats and

got maybe a four-bed terrace house in Arsenal with a garden.

And I was saying to him one night, "It's so depressing.

The things I'm seeing that we can afford with everything we've

got pooled together and I know that for the same price,

we could buy a chateau in France."

So I started looking, we sold our flats and bought here.

Dick: The chateau cost her about £600,000.

Not a bad price for a 500-year-old, 17-bedroom palace.

♪ ♪

Dick: With 60 acres of land, a lake, and a private chapel.

But it needed a lot of work.

We redid all the electrics, all the plumbing,

had to put in septic tanks.

Obviously all of the asbestos had to go.

We insulated every outside wall downstairs.

So big works.

The renovations were very expensive, but then the

maintenance costs start to hit.

And that I hadn't really thought about that much.

Dick: With bills to pay, Stephanie's come up with two

ways the chateau could generate some cash.

The chateau generates money mainly through chambre d'hôtes,

B&Bs.

The chambre d'hôtes is working more and more every year,

but by far, most of the business comes through workshops we have,

maybe six a year.

Dick: The workshops are for groups of musicians who stay for

a whole week.

She also has a long-term plan.

I want to make two new apartments over the garages,

and I'd like to rent them as gîtes.

Dick: And to pay for this, she's launching a new event.

We want to try and start sort of singles weekends.

So that's the next big project for this year.

Dick: She plans on hosting singles parties where 20 to 30

single people come to the chateau for a weekend to meet,

dine, and play games.

It's quite nice to just go away somewhere in the middle of

nowhere and meet lots of other people around the same age group

who are single, and so wanting to meet lots of people as well.

Dick: As a trial run, she's invited 30 close friends and

family for an Easter weekend dinner party.

It's even got a theme.

Tonight is the Under the Sea theme dinner,

so I'm mainly doing fish and lots of salads.

Dick: But the person she thought was helping with the cooking

can't make it.

And I can't cook!

My mother collects cookery books so I've got every cookery book

I could find.

I spent the whole night just going through cookery books,

looking for recipes.

It's not so much could things go wrong, as what will go wrong?

Dick: First job Stephanie takes on is a simple

garlic mayonnaise.

♪ ♪

I may have broken the whisk.

Yes.

[whisking]

♪ ♪

This is much better.

Oh, mama, très belle.

♪ ♪

Dick: Stephanie's mom Isabelle, who's French, has joined her

daughter for the weekend.

Isabelle: Mayonnaise.

It's been a bit of a struggle.

The first machine was broken, the second machine is working.

Um, but we're getting there.

That's just totally not nice .

You get here something is broken.

Stephanie: Always.

She's much more organized than I am.

[laughter]

I think she finds the party quite stressful,

because she just sees the work that needs doing.

I would never have done a party like this.

Personally, absolutely not.

Mummy doesn't understand how she had a daughter like this.

No, I think there has been a big mistake at birth.

- A switch? - A switch.

I don't really understand why I'm attempting to make

mayonnaise when there's so much to do.

Dick: Luckily, some of Steph's friends have arrived early,

and help make a start on the decoration for the

under sea theme.

So we got a lot of fabric.

But I'm not too sure how we're going to turn this into waves.

Just tent it.

Tent it so that it's like hanging in waves like this.

Michael: Okay.

Dick: Her friend Michael doesn't seem convinced by the

under water theme.

So I think this is going to be a lot bigger than I thought it

would and I'm not sure it's going to feel like

we're under the sea.

Dick: Oh ye of little faith.

♪ ♪

Dick: Back in the kitchen, Stephanie has more pressing

concerns.

Mummy has arrived not so much to save the day with the mayonnaise

as to criticize the mayonnaise and tell me what the--

- No, no, no: constructive-- - Oh, constructive criticism.

Yes, so that you can make it perfect.

I think it just needs salt.

I'm stepping away from the mayonnaise now.

I've just got to let it go.

♪ ♪

Dick: That small bowl of mayo took over an hour to make.

♪ ♪

I'm a bit concerned that my timing's been a little off.

This is the sort of thing my mother talks about with like me

not being very organized but quite enthusiastic.

But the mayonnaise is done.

That's what matters.

Dick: Good for you, Stephanie.

But there's still tons to do to be ready for tonight's party,

which is scheduled to start in two hours, by the way.

I still have to make my costume,

and do my hair, and make the pasta,

and the canapes and the salads.

There's still a lot to do.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Dick: Chateau des Lys:

This mid-19th century austere yet beautiful building was once

a boys' school.

It's now run as a B&B by Brit Tim and his wife Margreeth.

[splash]

Dick: But they're not bringing in enough income.

Our biggest problem is, we have under capacity during the summer

so we have to sort that out because if we can get that

together then life becomes a lot easier.

Dick: So they've got big plans.

Located just an hour's drive from Calais, in the picturesque

Picardie region--

--they think they're perfectly positioned to develop a

luxury caravan park and lease their gîtes in a

co-ownership scheme.

So we turned it really from a sort of big empty barn,

which was lovely, into something which you can live in.

I love it.

Dick: But all sales on the gîtes have been on hold for the last

six months while Tim is battling a colony of bees

in one of their chimneys.

After multiple attempts to get rid of them,

today he's hoping they're gone for good.

Tim: Let's go and check.

Ah, ooh!

[laughter]

♪ ♪

Tim: Well, I think the bees are gone.

Brilliant.

Gîte's safe and people won't get stung on their bum.

We have won the battle of the bees and they've all gone,

so we can get on and we can sell the gîte.

Dick: Their other project, the caravan park,

is still in its early stages.

They've got the first caravan in position, but it's a sad old

thing in need of TLC.

Tim's replacing the outer wooden panelling to make it

weatherproof.

[banging]

It's all secondhand wood from Holland.

And it's interesting: In Holland, this stuff, they just

recycle it, you go to a breaker's yard, fix them up,

and it's normally cheaper than buying new wood.

I can't find anything like this in France that I could use,

so normal wood, which is quite a lot.

I've got enough here to do the whole of this side.

It's costing me about, I think about 200 euros.

We just sort of, you know, buy it, bring it down, paint it,

so it's got a nice weatherproof outside coat.

I quite like it.

I mean, I quite like the fact that it's all different,

you know?

It's--it also means it's seasoned so that means

it won't warp.

♪ ♪

Dick: Yup, new or untreated wood will contain moisture.

Then when it dries out, it can twist, bow or curl.

Tim just needs to make sure he regularly waterproofs his wood.

Some bits are easier than others.

This one bows in the middle, which is a shame.

Dick: Tim and Margreeth have got their first guests arriving to

stay in a month's time.

Tim: This is looking good.

I'm quite happy with this.

But I'm almost at the stage now where I can go inside this

and we can sleep in it.

Dick: Uh, almost.

Tim: The fire is in position, looking good.

We'll be able to light that soon.

It's just mainly cleaning.

It's been idling in the field now for quite a long time,

but it's water tight so there's no real damage anywhere.

The electricity's become a bit dated.

Halogens are out.

LEDs are in, so probably have to change a few bulbs.

And now we can get some beds in, maybe get a little cooker,

have a little kitchen.

Dick: Sounds like a fair bit of work to me.

♪ ♪

There's a couple of rotten bits there.

But that's not disastrous.

Little bit of wood to be cut out and sort of put in again, but--

- [crack] --oops and the floor.

[laughing]

The floor needs replacing as well.

[laughing]

Dick: Better add that to the to-do list.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Dick: A nine-hour drive south of Tim's is another chateau:

Chateau de Brametourte.

This 1,000-year-old fort is home to Alison Ward and Paul Hunter.

Alison Ward: When you buy a chateau, you think most of your

cost is done when you buy it,

but in reality, the costs are what happens

year after year after year as you start renovating,

and trying to convert it into a business.

Dick: Based in the Languedoc region of France, they want to

make a living running it as a wedding venue so they can give

up their jobs as HR and IT consultants.

It's been 10 years of graft.

10 years of having to travel and work different parts of the

world and come back here and do the renovations, turning it into

an incredible environment for people to have their weddings.

[drilling]

Dick: They've now finished the wedding terrace, and tomorrow,

it will be used for its very first wedding.

Paul and I love turning the place into something beautiful

with a "wow factor" that our clients can really enjoy.

♪ ♪

Dick: Today, the bride and groom have arrived.

♪ ♪

- Wow. - Hannah: Lovely, we're here.

Dick: James and Hannah have invited over 30 family and

friends to their wedding.

[bell rings]

- [dog barking] - [laughter]

Dick: With Paul away working, Alison is holding the fort.

- Hello! - James: Hiya, hi.

- Welcome. - Hannah: Hi, thank you.

[chatter]

James: Hello.

Dick: Before they're shown up to their suite, Alison wants the

soon-to-be-married couple to take part in an ancient custom.

If I can just explain to you a tradition,

which is to say the Lord's Prayer.

Okay.

I got this sign of the Knights of the Templar in front of the

front door, and that actually makes sure that you have a

future happy marriage and it also blesses the house at the

same time.

- Okay. - Is that all right?

Sounds good, yeah, lovely.

Alison: Our Father who art in heaven.

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come Thy will be done.

On earth as it is in heaven.

Amen.

- James: I'll follow your lead. - Hannah: Our Father--

James: Who art in heaven.

Hannah: Hallowed be thy name.

James: Thy kingdom come.

Hannah: Thy will be done.

James: On earth as it is in heaven.

Hannah: Amen.

Alison: And enter the house.

♪ ♪

Dick: James and Hannah last visited Chateau de Brametourte

18 months ago when the bridal suite was still being renovated.

Here we are, through the old courtyard door,

into the new suite of angels.

Hannah: Can't believe how different it is.

James: Wow, that's amazing.

Hannah: I love all the furnishings as well.

- Lovely. - James: Wow.

You've got the balcony out there.

James: Of course, yeah.

- Hannah: Oh, fabulous. - James: Spectacular, wow.

The views are absolutely stunning.

That is lovely.

So when we came here before, this balcony wasn't here at all,

so it was literally just a hole here.

I'm really, really pleased.

So excited to stay here now.

[laughing]

Dick: Over the next few hours, the rest of the guests arrive.

- You've got both bags? - Yeah.

♪ ♪

Dick: But unfortunately, it seems some of them have brought

some typical British weather along with them.

[thunder rumbling]

♪ ♪

Part of the reason why we chose the South of France was because

of the weather.

You can never really guarantee the weather in the U.K.

Just hope that the sun comes out for us tomorrow.

[laughing]

Dick: With a storm forecast to last through tomorrow,

the big day, it looks like all of Paul and Alison's hard work

developing the wedding terrace may have been wasted for this

particular wedding.

[rain falling]

♪ ♪

Dick: Just under 500 miles north at Chateau d'Humières,

it's all hands on deck.

It's really fun, actually, when everyone's just mucking in

and we're working together to get it done.

Dick: Nicole, Stephan and their small team of volunteers

are racing to get the chateau's main hall ready for the upcoming

party tomorrow, and its new guest room open for business.

♪ ♪

It doesn't feel like the end is almost in sight.

There's still loads to do and I think as people get kind of more

knackered, then the hysteria sets in and then you just get

the giggles for nothing, which is great.

This looks much better.

Or moved on.

Much closer to finishing touches,

which is the bit I really enjoy.

Dick: Ever resourceful Stephan has a plan to add a striking new

feature to the hall.

He's acquired a beautiful ceiling rose.

This is a bit that came from another chateau.

A chateau not far away from here, which regretfully,

was torn down for some reason and I think it will go

very nicely in the entrance hall.

This is the fun part.

This is the preparation of the glue for the moulding on the

ceiling, which is actually cement.

Sets in about five minutes.

Dick: You can't hang around with this stuff.

Stephan will need to get it up and in position on the

ceiling quickly.

And it's like concrete when it's set.

Sort of making like a dough.

Sort of cooking.

Putting some on the parts so it attaches to the ceiling without

falling down on us.

♪ ♪

If you hold it, I will screw it.

♪ ♪

Yeah?

- You like it? - I think it's brilliant.

Mm hmm.

I know how to fix it.

Okay, let me think.

Here's a piece of wood.

[drilling]

♪ ♪

[drilling]

[Stephan exhales]

Make sure it has time to settle.

My only concern actually, is the cement actually is already hard.

♪ ♪

Dick: Stephan leaves it in position for five minutes--

Seems to stay up.

--and then starts to undo the plank holding it up

against the ceiling.

Whoa, what if it doesn't stick?

Stephan: Never lucky.

♪ ♪

Dick: At Chateau de Lalande, preparations are underway

for tonight's Easter party.

Owner Stephanie has plans to hold singles parties to bring in

more money, so tonight is a test run with 30 close friends and

family.

Half the guests are here, the other half are about to arrive.

The rooms are ready-ish.

Dick: While she struggles with dinner, her friends help

decorate for the party's under water theme.

♪ ♪

I'm hammering the nails into the beam so we can put strings back

and forth from which we can drape these pieces of material.

There's a hand-carved beam from about 1490.

- So let's not destroy-- - Yeah.

One nail per beam--

One nail per beam would be good.

♪ ♪

Dick: In the kitchen, Stephanie not only has lots more food to

prepare--

I have to make another mousse and I have to make a pasta bake.

Yeah, there's a lot to do still.

Dick:--she needs to get ready for the party herself.

I'm still a little bit concerned about the fact that I still

don't have a costume.

Dick: And with less than an hour until the party's due to start,

with the decorations and cocktails nearly ready--

I need another bottle of the Blue Curaçao, I believe.

Dick:--in the kitchen, tensions are rising.

Stephanie, I think you complicate your life.

A radish is a radish.

Your serve the blooming radish.

- Stephanie: Sorry? - Cucumber is a cucumber.

Serve the cucumber.

This is why my mother doesn't do the cooking.

You would get a radish, a cucumber--anything else on

someone's plate?

- Isabelle: A potato? - A potato.

A radish, a cucumber, a potato.

I believe in healthy cooking.

It's great having my mother here but stress levels have risen,

because she's never happy with what I'm doing until it's done.

Afterwards, she's like, "Oh, you did so well.

That was really great."

But every step of the way, up until it's done, just a bit of

micromanagement going on.

Let's face it:

Without my presence, there would be chaos.

There would be 20 of them in here.

♪ ♪

Dick: It's 9 p.m. and the chateau is full of

hungry guests.

♪ ♪

Dick: But at last, the food's ready, if an hour late.

Okay, everyone!

[applause and cheering]

It's time to come and eat.

Bring your plates.

♪ ♪

Dick: And it looks great.

It's been a hell of a lot of work and I didn't know that we'd

get it all done.

Especially when we spent an hour on the mayonnaise this morning.

Dick: Finally, Stephanie can enjoy herself for a bit.

Now I get to relax because I finished cooking.

Kim's cooking tomorrow.

Dick: The good news is, one of Stephanie's friends has

volunteered to cook breakfast tomorrow.

The bad news: She's still got lots of other things to arrange.

I'm going to sleep when I finally get to bed.

I'm not sure when that's going to be.

Tomorrow morning, we have to be up.

Dick: Let's hope she's ready for action then.

♪ ♪

Dick: But 320 miles north, back in Picardie,

Tim and Margreeth's first caravan guests arrive

in four week's time.

The interior still needs renovating plus the new hole in

the floor.

[Dick clears throat]

But Tim's turning his attention to the fire pit outside.

Tim: I'm sort of envisioning it going around like this.

Making a circle.

These are good, old rocks, aren't they?

Dick: The great thing about old chateaux is there's usually a

plethora of handy materials just hanging about.

So I've got a whole pile of stones.

I reckon there's probably part of the original paving for the

chateau which is long gone.

My little barrow will take six of those before it starts

breaking.

So we're going to backwards and forward with six at a time.

So the only problem with this system is that there is

a considerable distance between the stones and the fire pit.

We need a lot more stones, I think.

Tim: We need a lot more stones, don't we?

- Margreeth: So, good luck. - Tim: Thank you.

I think two more after this, don't we think?

♪ ♪

- [Tim grunts] - Margreeth: Perfect.

Dick: As Margreeth lays them into the circle--

--Tim carries on with the donkey work.

[Tim affects gasping]

♪ ♪

This is really coming together.

Oh!

It's great.

Do we need a full circle?

We are nearly there, aren't we?

Margreeth: Yeah, it looks so good.

Tim: Yeah, does look good, doesn't it?

It's much better than I thought it was going to look.

Margreeth: Me too.

♪ ♪

Tim: Well done, looks great.

♪ ♪

Tim: That's it.

Dick: Margreeth's is off to make a well deserved cuppa

as Tim tests out his handywork with the help of son, Joe.

- Tim: What do you reckon? - Joe: Chocolate.

Oh, we got chocolate.

- Hey! - Joe: Can I have some too?

- Have you helped, boy? - Tim: Have you helped?

Joe: Yeah!

Margreeth: So, this is working really well.

- Tim: It's lovely, isn't it? - It's really nice.

- Cheers. - Margreeth: To the fire pit.

- Tim: The fire pit. - Margreeth: Well done.

[Tim laughs]

How far do you think before the caravan's finished?

What year is it; 2017, isn't it?

- Okay. - No, I don't know.

I mean, I think if I get a run of it, um, I think I can do it

in two or three days.

Dick: Tim's confident he'll be ready for the first guests in

four weeks.

Before then, I want to help him out, so I've invited them to

our place for a business chat.

- This'll be fun. - Yeah.

- Looking forward to this. - Me too, yeah.

Dick: Who knows?

Maybe Angel and I can offer them some helpful advice.

Tim: He seems to know what he's doing.

Margreeth: I'm obviously very excited about meeting Angel.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Dick: Over 550 miles south, at the opposite end of the country,

it's the day before the first wedding of the season

at Chateau de Brametourte.

It's August, but you wouldn't think so.

We should get the fire going, shouldn't we?

Dick: All the hard work carried out developing the new terrace

by the pool for wedding receptions

could have been to no avail.

Alison: On the day, you can't plan for everything.

We've just gotta find the best solution and use the chateau

and its grounds to its best ability.

[rain falling]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Dick: It's the morning of the wedding

and the storm appears to have passed.

Bride Hannah is relieved.

Hannah: It was a bit of thunder and lightning last night.

Torrential rains and the panic was really starting to set in.

Obviously, last minute nerves and things,

but hopefully we won't see any more of it today.

Dick: The storm has delayed the preparations.

Little bit further back.

♪ ♪

Dick: With the wedding just five hours away,

everyone's got a job.

So we've got 100 flags.

Woman: Yeah, we can always cut it and take it down.

Yeah, okay.

Alcohol should be in there now.

Hannah: Okay.

We've got all the--well, not all the sparklers.

The majority of the sparklers.

- Hannah: Okay. - That's the open tins.

Okay, yes.

- We're getting there. - One step forward?

Yes.

Dick: But an hour before Hannah walks down the aisle,

the weather worsens.

Alison: We've had such unusual weather conditions.

Last night, there was a tempest.

And now the wind seems to be getting up.

So we're just trying to work out what's the best place

to be serving the drinks in the canapes

to make sure they're not going to be blowing away.

Dick: Poor Hannah.

Is her dream wedding going to be a wash out?

[wind blowing]

♪ ♪

Dick: At Chateau d'Humières, Stephan is about to find out if

he successfully stuck a rose to his ceiling or if he's about to

be hit in the face with 10 lbs of falling plaster.

[drilling]

♪ ♪

Dick: Phew!

It's really nice.

Dick: The next day, the day of the party,

after just a few hours sleep, Stephan's now got to find out

if the ceiling can withstand the weight of a heavy chandelier.

So bring it up, you go up the scaffold boarding.

I'll give it to you, then we put it on the ceiling, and then the

ceiling falls down, okay?

Okay.

♪ ♪

Okay.

♪ ♪

Okay.

We have to somehow attach these things.

Then we can pull this up.

Dick: The chandelier means a lot to Stephan.

It's a pretty old chandelier.

This came out of the house of my grandfather.

This has all the potential to go dramatically wrong.

Pulling too much, the entire thing will come down.

♪ ♪

Stephan: It's cool working blind.

♪ ♪

One cable in.

Phew.

Yeah.

♪ ♪

Now we take it off.

I'll take your side.

Yeah.

♪ ♪

- Don't push it so hard. - Man: Okay.

Dick: He needs to attach it to a hole in one of the wooden beams

in the ceiling.

An easy job if he could see what he was doing.

Need to turn it.

Yeah.

Oh.

Yeah, we're done.

Ah.

[Stephan exhales]

This is super safe; I think you can--

[Stephan grunts]

Can't pull it off.

Nicole: I think it's brilliant.

Dick: Well done, Stephan.

♪ ♪

Dick: Along with Nicole, they spent the rest of the day

getting the place ready.

Let's leave it there for now.

I think it might be all right.

Dick: But with two hours until the guests arrive,

Stephan notices his ancient digger is spoiling the view.

He wants to move it, but Nicole is concerned for his safety.

Stephan's been working day and night.

Slightly worried about him actually, 'cause he's been

working so hard.

Dick: He's exhausted and injured himself last night.

As you can see, I fell over.

I was getting some stuff out of the stables and I just

completely fell on the tractor.

Luckily I still have all my teeth, but my chin is bruised.

Dick: I wouldn't advise operating heavy machinery

when you're as tired as Stephan, people.

♪ ♪

[tractor motor]

Stephan: Now the resting place of the digger is between the old

stuff.

It's really helped us out actually because without it,

I don't think we could have managed so far,

so it's very practical.

Dick: Luckily, Stephan parks it without doing himself or anyone

else any injury.

Stephan: Part of chateau life, I think, hmm?

Nicole: Tweak the curtain a little bit.

Dick: Back in the chateau, the guest bedroom is ready for

business.

Nicole [laughing]: Considering the constraints that we've had,

I think it looks really nice.

Hopefully everyone else will too.

It's great to have a room that people can rent at last.

The colours here are kind of subdued and relaxing.

And I didn't want to subtract from the view.

So hopefully they work with each other.

Dick: Renting out the bedroom will start bringing in

much-needed income.

Feels great.

Just--but we're not ready yet.

Dick: But with 30 guests arriving in less than an hour,

there's no time to hang about.

And we need to put this sofa out.

- Man: Where is it going? - Nicole: If you can, upstairs.

♪ ♪

Nicole: I need to get my bread there.

Hopefully nobody wants anything soft to drink,

'cause there isn't anything.

What shall we do with the piano?

- We'll just take it out. - Move it into that room.

[laughing]

People know that it's not about it being finished.

And if there's a bit of tarnish left, it doesn't matter to me,

that adds character.

Hopefully the style, with the wallpaper chosen,

it doesn't really need to be finished, in a way.

- So-- - [bang]

Obviously the hole in the floor, we haven't had time.

So it's just, you know--it's just there.

Dick: Well, the guests will be here soon, Nicole.

We'll see what they think when they arrive.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Dick: It's 11:30 the morning after the Easter party

at Chateau de Lalande and owner Stephanie is still asleep.

[door creaks]

Dick: There is an important job to do.

Luckily, one of her friends, Michael, is on hand.

This is the most important part of the whole weekend.

This is the Easter egg hunt.

So what we've done is we've come down to the woods before

everyone's woken up and we're going to hide eggs throughout

the bluebell field.

♪ ♪

There we go.

He's hiding.

♪ ♪

That's always fun, but when a local drives past and sees these

crazy foreigners running around their fields,

dressed as animals.

[laughs]

They always wonder what the hell we're up to.

♪ ♪

These are the last two.

We gotta hide them somewhere really good.

I think I've got a spot.

♪ ♪

Dick: Stephanie and the rest of the guests make their way up to

the woods to be given their instructions.

The boundary is the edge of the bluebell field to our right,

the farmer's fields to the back, and the river to our left.

- The river? - Michael: The river.

- Oh, that's a long way. - Michael: Down to the river.

- Is that a fair distance? - No.

Okay 1-2-3, go!

♪ ♪

Dick: There's 250 eggs to find.

But it looks like the weekend's festivities have

taken their toll on Stephanie.

I'm feeling quite fragile this morning, hence the sunglasses

'cause I went to bed at 5 a.m.

Dick: But not everyone's struggling to get motivated.

I've got five, including a bunny, a little bunny.

Golden bunnies!

- Look how many I've got. - I've got five.

Oh, that is good.

- Can I have that in mine? - Yes.

- Because I love them. - Okay, sure.

♪ ♪

Dick: After 45 minutes hunting, it's all over.

♪ ♪

Stephanie: We found all the eggs.

That's the big end to Easter morning.

We can go and eat now.

♪ ♪

Oh gosh, it looks really good.

Dick: Fortunately for Stephanie, her friends Kim, Frank and Evo

have taken charge of serving up brunch.

♪ ♪

Thank you everybody for coming for Easter.

It's been amazing seeing you all.

[applause]

♪ ♪

Dick: It's been a great weekend.

Stephanie's decided it's been a good test of her abilities,

so is going to attempt it for real with a singles weekend

next month.

I'm really hoping that we can make some money with this,

because the chateau's got to find constant new ways

to pay for itself.

And hopefully it'll work.

Dick: But her mom and friends helped out a lot this weekend.

Chances are they won't be around next time.

Stephanie's going to have a job on her hands.

I'm looking forward to seeing how she does it.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Dick: You don't expect bad weather in August in the

South of France, but that's exactly what Alison is

experiencing in Chateau de Brametourte

30 minutes before the wedding.

That front area of the chateau is really like a wind tunnel.

Dick: It means the planned reception on the newly finished

wedding terrace might have to be moved.

We're going to check about 15 minutes before the ceremony

how the wind is and if it's still bad, we're going to make

changes in the plan.

Dick: But the groom is thinking about other things.

It's been a bit frantic this morning, getting everything set

up so once that's all over and done with, we can just have a

really good night.

Dick: In another room away from prying eyes, bride Hannah is

applying the finishing touches.

Hannah: Any chance you can just, um...

- What did you want doing? - Um, my necklace, please.

James will probably expect me to be a little bit late,

so that's fine.

[laughs]

Dick: It's not raining so the wedding can take place

in the courtyard.

Gosh everyone's sitting down, not that I'm panicked or

anything now.

Ah!

- Oh my goodness. - Woman: Oh yeah!

Dick: And as Alison sorts the last few details--

[bell rings]

♪ ♪

Dick:--the big moment arrives.

♪ ♪

Woman: A very warm welcome to Chateau de Brametourte

here in Lautrec.

This very special day for Hannah and James.

- I give you my heart. - James: I give you my heart.

- Woman: My promise. - Hannah: My promise.

- That I will walk with you. - That I will walk with you.

Woman: Wherever our journey leads us.

Hannah: Whenever our journey leads us.

- Forever. - Forever.

♪ ♪

I'm now pleased to announce that you're husband and wife,

and James, you may kiss Hannah.

♪ ♪

[applause]

♪ ♪

James: Over the moon how it went, really.

Hannah: Yeah.

James: Just everything we wanted.

Hannah: The views, the balcony, everything.

It's just been really, really nice.

Dick: The winds have died down.

And rain stayed off, so thank goodness for that.

- No rain! - No rain.

- Yay! - No rain at all, yeah.

[laughter]

You can't complain with that.

Dick: Which means the reception on the wedding terrace is on.

[laughter]

Dick: It's been a great day and it's going to be a great night.

Alison is overjoyed it's all gone well.

Very pleased and lovely to see the bride, and I think when I

was watching, I had a tear.

She had a tear, and so did he, and the mother of the bride,

so we're all having a tear.

It was a very beautiful service.

Dick: So the terrace around the pool is a hit and a real bonus

for future weddings.

Hopefully, Alison and Paul can soon realize their dream of

giving up their day jobs and living and working here

permanently.

Alison: Financially, it is difficult,

but to see where we've come from to where we are today is very,

very fulfilling.

We're 95% there.

So I hope we can relax and actually be based here to enjoy

the environment and making this a special holiday place,

and a special wedding destination.

Dick: Good luck with it, Alison.

[cheers]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Dick: Nearly 600 miles north, to celebrate their transformation

of the grand main hall, Nicole and Stephan have invited 30 of

their closest friends to enjoy its unique charms,

including this wallpaper.

13 weeks ago, Nicole discovered some old wallpaper--

What amazing colours.

Dick:--that my wife Angel helped her date to the latter

half of the 18th century.

Angel: "Looks like an extremely high-quality printing

well worth conserving."

Dick: Nicole has got some tailor-made to match

the original and it now decorates the room

adjoining the main hall.

Nicole: That wallpaper we found in a room upstairs.

- Woman: Oh. - It's not what you'd expect.

Woman: No, it's not.

I think it's beautiful.

I actually think it looks like a tapestry.

I love the way Stephan and you have been doing it,

because it's kind of traditional, but it's really

kind of a modern twist.

Makes it contemporary.

- This is the entrance hall. - Woman: Okay.

Nicole: 'Cause this is actually the centre of the chateau.

This is going to be the events area.

- You've got to make money. - So your wedding--

- Yes, like weddings. - Yes?

- Your wedding? - My wedding, that's right.

- Okay. - [laughter]

You might have to talk to Martin about that.

[laughter]

Martin, I need a word later, all right?

[laughter]

Dick: With Nicole already lining up their next booking,

there's a surprise treat for the guests.

♪ [operatic singing] ♪

Dick: For Nicole and Stephan, the evening's been a triumph.

I think it was a great idea to change it to an event's space.

People love it and that was the aim of it.

Like, that people would be able to enjoy the place.

♪ ♪

Stephan: So romantic; it's such a beautiful setting.

It's charming, well done.

[Nicole laughs]

Thanks so much.

♪ ♪

[applause]

Dick: It's a vital first step in their bid to make the chateau

self-sufficient.

Stephan: We're really happy with what we did.

Nicole: It kind of is as I imagine.

It's quite nice.

I quite like it.

♪ ♪

Could have given up somewhere along the road.

But we brought life back to a bare shell.

Nicole: And there's a lot that we still need to do.

There's a lightbulb missing there.

- Shh. - [Nicole laughs]

Dick: These two have worked incredibly hard.

I can't think of anyone better to take this magnificent old

chateau on to the next stage of its life.

All the best, guys.

♪ ♪

Dick: Next time:

When I attempt to salvage a children's trampoline

from our moat--

Oh, dear!

--it's anyone's guess if I actually know what I'm doing.

At this stage, I'm not 100% sure what's going to happen.

But with a bit of luck, we'll be in the dark so nobody will know.

With one couple's roof in desperate need of repair--

It's pretty grim every time it rains,

I have to come out and move the buckets.

Dick:--they hold an event to bring in some much needed cash.

- 25 plus 30 euros. - 25 euros.

Woman: What did you say, 75?

Sophie: Let's write this down.

Dick: Easier said than done.

- [clattering] - Sophie: Oops.

Trying not to panic now.

Dick: Stephanie struggles to face a big day of work--

Stephanie!

Oh, come on darling, you must get up.

Dick:--but soon gets into the swing of it.

It's not every day we have a digger to play with, right?

Ready.

It's hard to be gentle with a digger.

Dick: And after Tim and Margreeth come to ours

to talk about their struggling business--

Come on in, come on in.

Tim: Wow, can't get over this place.

Amazing, man.

Dick:--they leave with their heads full of ideas.

Tim: I can really see this as being a sort of turning point,

you know?

So inspiring.

Tim: We've got so many things we can do.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪