Case study: How Rocabella transformed a demanding briefing into an exceptional wedding

Written by Carla | Published on October 3, 2025

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Wedding

The initial briefing — all questions from a wedding planner

When an international couple is preparing a destination wedding in the Mediterranean, the wedding planner must anticipate every detail. Here is the complete list of questions asked by Claire and David, and that any organizer should consider for a high-end event:

1. Lodgings

How many rooms are available on site?
Are there suites for the bride and groom and their close families?
Can we mix single rooms, twin rooms, and suites?
What is the maximum number of beds without losing comfort?
What partner hotels are nearby to accommodate additional guests?

2. Event spaces

Where to organize the ceremony? Is there a panoramic outdoor area?
Can we have several distinct locations for ceremony, cocktail, dinner and dance party in order to punctuate the event?
Is there a Plan B solid in case of rain or strong wind, with the same capacity?
Is there an indoor space dedicated to the party with a dance floor, sound system, lights?

3. Logistics & accessibility

How far is the nearest international airport?
Are shuttle/car transfers with drivers available?
What is the parking capacity for local guests?

4. Catering & bar

Is there a resident chef who can create fine Mediterranean cuisine?
Can international culinary influences be integrated (fusion, show-cooking, vegetarian, kosher or halal menus)?
Is there a flexible space to set up a cocktail bar, buffet or live cooking?
Until what time can the service be provided?

5. Atmosphere & experience

What activities can be offered to guests before or after the ceremony (yoga, paddleboarding, excursions, massages)?
Are there intimate spaces for family moments or more discreet ones?
How do you make the experience memorable for guests who have come from far and wide?

6. Noise and time constraints

Until what time can the music last outside?
Is there an isolated room to continue the evening late into the night?

7. Scenography & heritage

Does the place have a history or heritage that enrich the marriage?
Can we create different atmospheres in each space with light, flowers and scenography?

8. Budget & value for money

What is the overall cost for complete privatization?
What is the average price per all-inclusive guest (accommodation + catering + event)?
What services are included in privatization and which are optional?

Rocabella's creative answers — concrete & inspiring solutions

Lodgings

40 rooms divided into 4 villas (Corniche, Folie, Bastide, Cottage), or 80 beds.
Premium suites for the bride and groom: the Calypso Suite (50 m², breathtaking sea view) and the Turquoise bedroom with private terrace.
Flexible configuration: single rooms for VIPs, twin rooms to optimize budgets.
Partnership with hotels in Pradet to accommodate additional guests (shuttles included).

Event spaces

Ceremony : terraces facing the Mediterranean, 180° panorama.
Cocktail : around the bucolic La Folie swimming pool, rural and green atmosphere.
Dinner : Belvedere of La Corniche, spectacular sunset, up to 130 guests seated.
Dance party : the Temple, a heritage space with a unique style, equipped with a dance floor, bar and library upstairs.
Plan B rain : Frégate room (200 m²) with sea view, equipped to accommodate 100 to 150 seated guests.

Logistics

Toulon-Hyères airport 25 minutes away, Nice 1 hour 15 minutes away, Marseille 1 hour away.
Toulon TGV station 10 minutes away
Organization of private transfers (sedans, vans, VIP buses).
Private parking on site for local guests.

Catering & bar

Resident chef and catering team capable of creating a custom menu : Mediterranean, but also Lebanese and Californian influences to reflect the origins of the bride and groom.
Show-cooking installed on the terrace: griddle, oyster bar, Mediterranean grilled meats.
Mixology cocktail bar installed by the pool for cocktails.
Service until 3am in the morning at the Temple.

Atmosphere & experience

Activities offered: paddle boarding, snorkeling, sunrise yoga, yoga at sunrise, individual massages, boat trips from the creek.
Intimate spaces: La Folie library, winter garden, private terraces.
Different moments: welcome dinner on Thursday evening, Provençal brunch on Sunday.

Sound constraints

Music possible outside until 22:00
Dance evening extended until 3 am at the Temple, an isolated space.

Scenography & heritage

The Temple and its historic frescoes served as a backdrop for the evening.
Light games installed in the Mediterranean gardens for the ceremony.
Mediterranean floral decor inspired by olive trees, lavender and bougainvillea.

Budget & value for money

Full privatization : 23,000 to 33,000€ per night.
Final total budget: 248,000€, i.e. €2,750 per guest all inclusive (accommodation, catering, entertainment, privatization).
Pooling of services (accommodation + catering + spaces) which allowed savings of nearly 15% compared to competing options.

Testimonies

Claire — The Bride

“We knew from the start that we wanted a wedding on the French Riviera, but we were afraid that this dream would become out of budget or too complicated to organize. When we visited Rocabella everything changed. This place is not only beautiful: it is designed to host multi-day weddings where each moment has its own atmosphere. Being able to accommodate our close families on site and distribute the other guests to neighboring hotels allowed us to be all together while respecting our constraints.

The most striking was the ceremony facing the sea. I had the impression that the place was created for us. Everything was fluid, each transition from one space to another was natural, like a living account of our history. It is a memory that I will keep for the rest of my life.”

David — The bridegroom

“I wanted an elegant, but above all, warm wedding where our families from all over the world would feel welcomed. What Rocabella has succeeded in creating a true collective travel experience, not just a party.

The cocktail around the La Folie pool had an intimate and bucolic atmosphere, the dinner at the Belvedere offered an unreal sunset, and the evening at the Temple was magical: a place steeped in history that gave our party an almost cinematographic dimension.

But beyond the frame, it is the precision in organization that impressed us. Each question we asked in the briefing had a concrete answer that was often creative and always reassuring. We dreamed of a high-end destination wedding, and Rocabella turned that dream into reality, without compromise.”

Antony, father of the bride

“As a father, I dreamed of seeing my daughter celebrate her wedding in a place that lived up to what it represents for us: unique, bright and deeply authentic. When I saw her arrive on the terraces facing the sea, bathed in Mediterranean light, I understood that this decor had been chosen with the heart. It wasn't just a ceremony, it was a living picture. Rocabella gave us much more than a setting: it enveloped our family in an atmosphere of beauty and serenity that I will never forget.”

Jack, witness of the bridegroom

“Witnessing means accompanying the bride and groom in their most intense emotions. Here, I felt how much the place had shaped the experience. The ceremony by the sea, the cocktail in the gardens, the dinner at sunset... each space created a new chapter, like a book that we were shooting together. At the end of the evening, in the Temple, I saw friends who didn't know each other dancing like a family. It's the magic of a place designed to connect people, to transform a wedding into a collective trip.”

Caroline, the groom's mother

“When you marry your son, you hope above all that your loved ones who sometimes come from far and wide feel welcomed and honored. At Rocabella, each guest had this impression: of being expected, considered, and pampered. The villas allowed us to be together, but also to preserve intimate family moments. The initial brunch, under the olive trees, was an incredibly sweet moment, as if the estate was benevolently saying goodbye to us. This marriage will be remembered as an experience where beauty and humanity met.”

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Conclusion — a wedding transformed into a destination experience

By anticipating all possible questions and offering creative solutions to each challenge, Rocabella made it possible to transform this marriage into multi-day destination experience.

Thanks to the exclusivity of the estate, the modularity of the spaces and the richness of the heritage of the place, Claire and David experienced a marriage that was both elegant and deeply human.
The testimonies of the bride and groom confirm what international wedding planners are looking for: a place capable of respond to the most demanding briefs while offering incomparable soul, history and Mediterranean hospitality.

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