luisa & douglas

Join us as we share stories from couples all around the world, that are full of love and happiness, while growing our passion for the Lord, our marriage, family, and photography.

browse categories:

Welcome to our Blog

Lavender Fields In Provence, France

Hello friends! We are Luisa and Douglas. Our journey together started in the most unexpected city in the world, Las Vegas. From there we overcame a 3 year long distance relationship. Living in separate continents. Coming from different cultures, traditions, food, and lifestyles. We quickly fell in love, got married in Vegas, named our little puppy Vegas, and discovered our true passion: Creating experiences. Together.

This world is big, and life here is short. So we do not like to sit still. We want to explore as much as possible and capture as many love stories as we can along the way. Our bucket list is always growing. Our cameras are always capturing moments that will live forever. Our hearts are so full of love, for each other, and everyone we meet on our adventures.

Want to follow along? Here are a few places we have been blessed to explore, with many more to come!!!

2018 June: Sardinia, Italy [coming soon]
2018 June: Valensole & Riez In Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France [coming soon]
2018 June: Lavender Fields In Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France
2018 June: Marrakech and Sahara Desert, Morocco
2018 July: White Sands National Monument In New Mexico, USA
2018 August: Beirut, Lebanon [coming soon]
2018 September: Canyonlands & Arches National Park In Utah, USA [coming soon]
2018 November: Iceland [coming soon]

Picture this, endless fields of freshly blooming lavender! In the middle of the French countryside, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence! In between our trips to Sardinia, Italy and Morocco for two of our #luisassecretbrides, we had 2 empty days on our calendar that needed attention, and we knew what was next on our bucket list! Provence, France. Finally one of our wildest dreams was about to come true! We flew to Nice, rented a car and started our adventurous drive north towards the countryside. The drive from Nice to Valensole is only about 2.5 hours but it took us almost 6. Not because of traffic. But because of the breathtaking landscapes that we saw in every direction throughout the country roads.

As we inched closer to Valensole, lavender fields between apple trees, small creeks, wineries, and little villages were becoming the norm. We rolled down our windows, enjoyed the warm summer breeze and started to smell. LAVENDER. It was so fresh. Imagine picking up a bar of lavender soap and smelling it. This is exactly the air you breathe. We turned onto the most famous road near Valensole: D6 (Route de Manosque). Lavender fields. Perfectly manicured, for as far as the eye can see. And there it was. The heart shaped tree. In the middle of thousands of lavender bushes. We spend the entire morning and evening (for sunrise & sunset) in the fields while the sunlight colored the lavender in beautiful shades of purple and pink. The next morning, before we had to head back to the airport, we drove down D8 (Route de Digne) to explore more fields. And we found the cutest little lavender field with a little cottage and mountains in the background.

During our trip, we got to smell different dried lavender flowers. Tried and bought lavender oils. Tasted lavender honey. And bought some dried lavender that we use daily in our candle warmers. The scent makes us feel so relaxed and brings us right back to one of the most beautiful places on earth!

Best Time to Visit

We visited Valensole and the lavender fields on June 13-14th and were pretty lucky with the weather. It was supposed to rain the entire time, but after a very short morning shower the sun decided to peek through the clouds and we had two beautiful summer days in the Provence. Even though the lavender flowers were SO pretty when we arrived, they are even fuller and fluffier closer towards the end of June through mid July, which looking back at our photos is a little difficult to imagine. With that said, we hope to come back again. Soon!

Best Time for Photos

As you probably know by now, we are crazy about the best natural light. And that is almost always during the first 2 hours of sunrise and the last 2 hours before sunset. End of June, the sun rises around 6:00 am and sets around 9:20 pm in Valensole. Get an early start, and be out there around 5:30am to set up your camera(s)! And be back around ~7:20pm (2 hours before sunset) to get the most precious golden light lavender field photos!!!

Our Trip To The Lavender Fields In Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France

Airport: Nice (NCE) also consider flying into Marseille (MRS). It is a shorter drive, however prices were higher when we booked, and we love driving through the countryside.
Accommodations: The cutest AirBnB with one of the sweetest hosts, Alda.
Restaurants: Restaurant Régal and Brasserie Du Plateau
Favorite Photo Spots for Lavender Fields:
- Heart-shaped tree in lavender fields.
- Cottage and mountain backdrop surrounded by lavender fields.
- D6 and D8: Drive up and down these main roads. There are sooo many lavender fields. Even some sun flower fields.