Love on the French Riviera

A storybook ceremony at a beachfront chateau that was featured on Downton Abbey, an expedition in a national coastal park with sea urchins, and leisurely meals along the Mediterranean coast that ranked among the best in the travelers’ lives – those were just a few of the highlights of an unforgettable destination wedding in mid-June. 

Andrew Mintz, the third of Jordan and Lauren Mintz’s five children, was engaged to wed fellow attorney Caitlyn Fiebrich, and they wanted to keep their wedding small and intimate. A Texas wedding would have to be a big one, so a destination wedding seemed like the way to go.

When sister Ally Mintz and husband Nick Duble got the news, they suggested a few chateaux in the French wine country; Nick, a wine distributor and sommelier, works out of Bordeaux and divides his time between there and New York, and knows the territory well. Andrew picked up the idea and started Googling for wedding venues in the region.

“We started expanding our horizons and looking internationally, and we found a venue that we loved, and it just took off,” said Andrew. He hit upon a three-hectare (7.4 acre) parkland estate called Domaine Rocabella in the tiny village of Le Pradet, just outside the port city of Toulon. 

Younger brother Nicky Mintz officiated the ceremony; as a touch of tradition, the chuppah held Lauren’s father’s tallit from his bar mitzvah. (Photo: Angelika Dupuis Photography)

Domaine Rocabella had all the ingredients the couple was looking for, and more: It sits perched on a hill above the Mediterranean with spectacular blue vistas, lush gardens, and access to the beach. “There's a walking path down to a little private beach where we could all hang out, and that kind of clicked all the boxes for us,” said Andrew.

Rocabella’s stately mansion has had moments of fame throughout its history, having been featured in a number of French films and in 2022 on Downton Abbey, when it served as the summer vacation destination of the Crawley family. But only recently has it opened for rent as a wedding venue. 

The stars lined up, and the whole Mintz family was able to set aside the time and come together for the occasion, so it would be an unforgettably special time for all of them, said Andrew’s mother, Lauren Mintz. This would be the first time the family would come together in Europe. And for Lauren and husband Jordan, it would have an extra layer of meaning.

“We were celebrating our 40th anniversary – so we thought, okay, good, we can make this an anniversary trip, too,” said Lauren. She’d always wanted to road trip in Europe; now, with Nick as their driver and French-speaking guide, it was all falling into place. 

Jordan and Lauren Mintz, the proud parents of the groom.

Evan, the eldest brother, a Pulitzer Prize-finalist former writer for the Houston Chronicle, and wife Melissa, a psychologist and the award-winning author of the book Has Your Child Been Traumatized?, would join his parents and Ally and Nick after the wedding, extending the fun for a few days more. 

The adventure began with a direct flight from Houston to Paris, where they caught a high-speed train to the French Riviera city of Toulon. For many French tourists, the city is best known as the gateway to the Mediterranean island destination of Corsica. Toulon is less well known than other destinations along the Côte d'Azur such as Nice, Cannes, and Monaco. But as the Mintzes discovered, the city and its environs have a rich history, an authenticity and a spectacular beauty all their own.

This port city, known as a major historic naval military center, was founded by the Romans in the 2nd century B.C., and is the place where a young Napoleon Bonaparte would launch a meteoric military career with his recapture of the strategic port from the British. Toulon also played a major role in World War II, as Evan was quick to point out, being a focal point of Operation Overlord and the Second D-Day. 

Reed Daniel, Andrew Mintz, and Stuart Dickerson (pictured, from left), after popping the cork on the Nebuchadnezzar champagne bottle (20 bottles in one).

Andrew and Caitlyn would stay at Domaine Rocabella with their friends, while the rest of the family stayed nearby in their own villa on the coast in Toulon. From the moment they arrived, said Melissa, they encountered one enchanting vista after another, starting with their view of the ocean from their villa.

“It was a picturesque, framed view of the Mediterranean Sea, and it was just gorgeous,” Melissa recalled. “And then, right behind that view, there was a nice outdoor table, and we'd have croissants and cheeses and meats, out on the table for breakfast, and that was our breakfast view.”

First, though, it was time to get ready for the welcome party at Rocabella, and then dinner in downtown Toulon. With a nod to the city’s Napoleonic history, the family would gather with the Fiebrichs at the restaurant Au Sourd, famous for its fresh bouillabaisse, a classic seafood stew that originated down the coast in Marseilles. The establishment was founded by one of Napoleon III’s artillerymen, who lost his hearing during the fighting, according to the Michelin guide – hence the name (sourd means deaf). Here the travelers would get their first authentic taste of the local cuisine. And since the waitress didn’t speak English, they were grateful for Nick’s fluency, a skill the group came to rely on often throughout the trip.

Melissa and Evan Mintz; Evan sports the porkpie hat he found in his villa just in time to wear it to the rehearsal dinner.

The next day, Nick’s expertise as a sommelier would serve them well as they paid a visit to Clos Cibonne, a winery dating back to the 17th century. Named for its first owner, Jean-Baptiste de Cibon, captain of Louis XVI's Royal Navy, the vineyard fell on hard times during the phylloxera blight. In the 1930s, André Roux decided to devote the vineyards to Tibouren, a favorite of Julius Caesar that was brought over the Alps from Greece by Napoleon’s armies. Roux did well with the grape, and so have his children and grandchildren, and now the fifth consecutive generation is running the award-winning winery.

“It was really meaningful, because it was the fifth generation – the great-great-great-granddaughter – that gave us the tour, and it was nice to hear her talk about her passion for wine and show us pictures of her grandparents,” said Melissa.

After the winery they explored downtown Toulon, went to a local market, and had lunch at a local restaurant, where Nick introduced them to a new drink: a licorice-flavored drink known as pastis. 

“It is a favorite of Provençal men on the French Riviera, and that became a favorite of ours for the trip,” said Melissa.

Domaine Rocabella’s stately mansion, with its imposing staircase leading to the beach, has been featured in a number of French films and in 2022 on Downton Abbey.

That afternoon as they were preparing for the rehearsal dinner at the Château de Rocabella, Evan had a stroke of sartorial luck. 

“I had gotten a linen suit for the rehearsal dinner and when we’re walking around the villa where we were staying, I found this pork pie hat and big cane and it just perfectly matched the suit, so I wore that all night,” he said.

Finally it was time for the wedding, and it came off without a hitch: with blue skies above, blue waters beyond, the lush gardens around them … “and everybody looking just so stunning and relaxed,” as Melissa put it.

Younger brother Nicky officiated, and the flower-covered chuppah served as a perfect frame for the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean. As a touch of tradition, the chuppah held Lauren’s father’s tallit from his bar mitzvah. The couple broke the glass… and then the festivities began in earnest, with double magnums of Calon Ségur Bordeaux at every table and a Nebuchadnezzar champagne bottle (20 bottles in one) that had to be poured over the shoulder. 

One family tradition – a video portraying the newlyweds’ courtship through the eyes of their dogs – brought uproarious laughter. Brother Emery had taken the lead in making Andrew and Caitlyn’s, which featured their dogs Rico and Nugget with outrageous French accents and tiny berets. The fact that it was entirely fictitious only made it funnier. (See the video here. )

The next day, the newlyweds headed off for their honeymoon in Morocco and Portugal, while Lauren and Jordan, Evan and Melissa, and Nick and Ally headed westward down the coast to Cassis for what would be a major highlight of the trip: a visit to the Calanques National Park (pronounced Kalonks).

The boat tour of Calanques National Park came complete with a deluxe seafood platter prepared by Les Roches Blanches.

Named for the spectacular geological formations along the Mediterranean coast between Cassis and Marseille, the seaside nature reserve is home to transparent waters and abundant marine life. The Mintzes took a hike along the coast and then went out for a four-hour boat ride with a skipper, exploring the intimate coves of the Calanques. They dropped anchor in a particularly beautiful cove where they went snorkeling and saw a whole colony of sea urchins. 

The skipper took them on a cruise of the hidden byways, threading his way through the series of inlets and coves. “He took us to so many different places, but one of my favorites looked like another ordinary part of the Calanques.” There she saw a sight she will never forget. In the rocks was a tiny entrance that opened up into a large cave that they were able to swim into. “Everything inside was like this brilliant blue color,” she recalled.

Their hotel, the Les Roches Blanches, won rave reviews from all the travelers. And one of the highlights of their foray was a fresh seafood platter that the hotel sent with them on the boat.

On Evan and Melissa’s final night on the coast, the family decided to check out a tiny, trendy place in Marseilles that has been grabbing headlines in the likes of Vogue and Condé Nast Traveler: The Tuba Club, which turned out to be one of the trip highlights. The seafood was so fresh you could literally see it being caught, with fishermen plying the waters right in front of them as they ate. Particularly unforgettable were the sea bream sashimi and the seafood towers.

“It was simple but super fresh,” said Ally. “They served sashimi but still in the fish. It was a really great, fun meal – and for dessert they brought out a liter of fresh-churned pistachio ice cream and some fresh-baked buttery cookies you dipped in the ice cream. I could have eaten that forever.”

This was where the group parted ways, with Evan and Melissa heading to Paris and the others traveling on to the Luberon region for more wineries and vistas of the rolling lavender hills of Provence.

For Caitlyn and Andrew, looking back at the whole experience, it had taken a little adjustment to accommodate themselves to the laid-back French approach to things, but it was an experience that changed their way of looking at the world.

“It took both of us as attorneys a beat to get used to, with our Type A personalities,” said Caitlyn with a laugh. “But once you did, it was something that we can definitely learn from and take a lesson away from. To just sit back and enjoy and take a deep breath … And just take in the smell of jasmine. Take in the smell of the ocean and the smell of fish on the grill and just lay back and chill. I think we both needed some of that.”

Tips from Our Travelers

Worth the splurge: The seafood platter from Les Roches Blanches while taking a private boat trip to see the Calanques. (Melissa)

Don’t miss: Taking a cold plunge into the Mediterranean. (Caitlyn)

Favorite restaurants: Tuba Club in Marseilles! Insanely fresh and unique takes on fish, beautiful presentation. (Melissa)

Currency exchange: Euros

Packing: Lots of clothing you can layer! Even in summer, nights can get chilly. (Melissa)

Don’t bring: Heels. Even at upscale restaurants, a nice pair of sandals is all you need. (Caitlyn)

Local favorite: Pastis – apparently a favorite beverage of Provençal men. I couldn’t get enough of it! (Melissa)