Wedding | Cydney & Mike

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We met at the tail-end of a global pandemic, all thanks to Bumble. Cydney is a Creative at Apple, and Mike is in Finance at Netflix. We live in sunny Los Angeles with our dogs TJ and Rosie, along with our little cat Pidgeon.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

Since our family is spread across the East and West coasts of the United States, we figured most of our guests would have to travel no matter where we got married. So, we decided to make everyone travel!

We chose France because that’s where Mike proposed to Cydney and it’s a country we love. Our wedding planner helped us find the perfect chateau about an hour outside Bordeaux that could fit all of our guests on the grounds. 

How many guests did you have?

We had a blast with 60 of our family and friends who joined us on, what we called, an elevated family vacation to France. It was an epic 5-day adventure!

Tell us about your outfits.

Mike is all about earth tones, which he chose to wear throughout the whole week. It was scorching hot, so he mostly wore linen and natural fibers.

For his wedding suit, Mike knew he wanted to wear green. He’s no stranger to bold color, so he paired a light green linen suit from Ralph Lauren with a Carolina blue shirt. For his accessories, he went with a navy tie and pocket square and a matching green Shinola watch (one of a his and hers set Cydney got him as an engagement present). His shoes were also navy, having been bought a year ago on one of our trips to Bordeaux. Lastly, he wore a silver locket around his neck with a photo of his late mother so she could be with him for the whole day.

For the wedding day, she chose one of the first wedding dresses she had pinned on Pinterest—a classic dress with a bit of a twist, featuring a squared off basque-waist from Danielle Frankel that she bought from Loho Bride. She paired it with a 3-strand pearl necklace from Vivienne Westwood, pearl earrings with a gold bamboo detail from Cambio & Co, and a diamond and pearl ring that was designed by her grandmother and barred form her mother. She originally planned on wearing floral embroidered, rattan heels from Dior (and she did briefly for her first dance) but made a game day decision to spend the majority of the ceremony in platform, blue suede Converse.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

We wanted to give our loved ones a truly unforgettable experience—a chance to explore a place they might never have found on their own, and immerse themselves in the local culture through delicious food, exciting tours, and other little surprises throughout the week.

This led us to a fantastic group of vendors, like Timonier, who made the most amazing pizza for our rehearsal dinner. And Monblanc, our incredible caterer on the wedding day, whose strawberry dessert Cydney still can’t stop dreaming about. And the duck, oh my gosh, the duck! It was absolutely incredible!

One of our favorite moments was a day trip to Saint-Émilion. The whole group hopped into a bus together, like a school field trip, toured a chateau with a wine tasting, and explored the charming medieval city.

Since it was a destination wedding, we didn’t want to give out traditional favors that would be a hassle to travel with. We found vintage postcards from all over France to give to our guests as cute little mementos that doubled as escort cards at our wedding reception.  

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

As a multicultural couple, we wanted to make sure that every part of us was represented in our wedding. We did this in a variety of fun ways. When guests arrived, they found snacks in every guest room. Mike’s favorite American snack, Flaming Hot Doritos; Cyd’s favorite Filipino snack, Skyflakes; and we had a variety of our favorite French candies.

We also incorporated bits of ourselves into different moments during the wedding day itself. We had photos of Mike’s late mother in the front row, Nipa fans from the Philippines on every seat, a cord and veil ceremony, and a smashing of the glass before our first kiss. During the reception, we had a not-so-traditional Filipino money dance where we made custom fake bills that we invited guests to write well-wishes on instead of having a guest book.

One of the standout favorite details that all of our guests loved was the custom table numbers that we designed. This was a DIY project that Cydney knew she wanted to do even before we had a date, location, or really any wedding plan at all. Each table had a vintage folding picture frame that featured photos of us as children—our ages in each image corresponding to the table number guests were seated at.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Get the wedding planner! (Cyd’s words)

We both have super demanding jobs, and with a destination wedding, there was no way we could have pulled off anything even close to what Nicole and her team at Pétillante Weddings achieved. The entire week was beyond what we could have ever imagined. People always talk about wedding planning being super stressful, but they made it so easy. We are so grateful we got to work with them!

Lastly, make the wedding planning fun and do it together. It may seem overwhelming in the moment, but it’s something we will look back on and cherish for the rest of our lives.

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

Oh my gosh, we loved all of our vendors! We had the best time, and we couldn’t be more grateful to work with such talented and kind people every step of the way, but we would be remiss to go without mentioning a few more.

First up, we want to give a huge shoutout to Boulangerie au Péché Gourmand! They made sure we had fresh croissants every morning, which were unbelievably delicious. All of our guests raved about them! Then there was Maggi, Cyd’s hairstylist and the absolute coolest human ever. And let’s not forget about the DJ, Nadia! We think she’s the best DJ in France (and if you hire her, ask her to sing! She’ll blow you away). 

Last, but definitely not least, we have to thank Elisa Rinaldi , our incredible photographer. As a Creative Director, Cydney loves photography, but she usually sits behind the camera, not in front of it. Elisa made us both feel so comfortable and in the moment on our wedding day. The final result was breathtaking. We absolutely love every single image, and we can’t wait to look back on them for years to come. 

Photographer: Elisa Rinaldi @elisarinaldiphoto | Planning: Pétillante Weddings @petillanteweddings | Flora: Fabulous Things @ourfabulousthings | Videographer: Wedstory @filmmakeryanblanc | Ceremony & Reception Location: Chateau de la Valouze @chateaudelavalouze | Celebrant: Mike’s Father | Rentals: Fabulous Things @ourfabulousthings | Makeup: Cyd’s friend, Rowan | Hair Stylist: Maggi @miss.

margarette | Catering & Beverages: Monblanc @monblanc_traiteur | Croquembouche: Monblanc @monblanc_traiteur | Stationery: by Cydney | Entertainment: Nadia with Epoq Events @nadia_

djetteaidan | Dress: Danielle Frankel from Loho Bride @loho_bride @daniellefrankelstudio | Suits: Ralph Lauren @ralphlauren | Veil: Danielle Frankel from Loho Bride @loho_bride @daniellefrankelstudio |

Engagement Ring: Rose & Choc @roseandchoc | Wedding Rings: Brilliant Earth @brilliantearth | Shoes: Dior @dior & Converse @converse | Necklace: Vivienne Westwood @ viviennewestwood | Earrings: Cambio & Co @cambio_co | Watch: Shinola @shinola