Wedding | Madeline & Tanner

The Anti-Bride
34 minutes ago
5 min read

Tell us about yourselves.

We met in college and were friends for years. Finally, our timing aligned and have been together ever since – about 13 years and counting. Tanner proposed on a family trip in Lake Como. When it came time to get married – it felt like a celebration of our commitment and the life we’ve built together over the last decade. In our hearts, we’ve been married a long time. We now live in Washington, DC with our two scruffy dogs.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

Why the South of France? While our plan was always to elope – our family and friends wanted to be there for the moment. So after much discussion, a micro-wedding abroad felt like the perfect compromise. In retrospect, we’re so grateful we were convinced. We wanted a new place to explore and the environment to be elevated but carefree. I narrowed my search to the south of France for its style, its energy, and the guarantee of good food and wine.

Why Chateau de Paon? Perfectly situated 10 minutes from the incredible town of Arles - a gorgeous city for us to explore - Arles had an incredible range of hotel options for our guests and a fantastic restaurant (Le Galoubet) for our welcome dinner. The Chateau was perfect – with multiple gorgeous outdoor spaces for the ceremony, cocktails, dinner and dancing, it was important that the space didn’t need too much “transforming.” Moreover – I wanted my rain plan to be equally elegant. It’s gorgeous ballroom was the best rain plan I could have asked for, although thankfully we didn’t need it. The Chateau had rooms to host 28 of my friends and family on-site. Our hosts Giddeon and Zoe were so helpful throughout the planning process and gave us free range for the whole weekend. The bonus: a pretty loose noise ordinance. Our wedding went until 6AM – something I could have only achieved in the South of France.

This venue was the biggest and most important decision I made – not only because it was the perfect place to execute my vision – but because my hosts also introduced me to my fantastic wedding planner – Noella from Wonder Events who made it all come to life.

How many guests did you have?

45.

Tell us about your outfits.

I’ve always loved antiques. My ring is an antique diamond button from the 1800s. I found it through an antique dealer and knew immediately it was the one. Likewise, I had originally planned on wearing my grandmother’s wedding dress like my mom. While looking for a base dress to wear underneath my grandmother’s gorgeous lace overcoat – I stumbled across the most perfect dress from Jenny Yoo. It wasn’t my original vision but the moment I walked out of the dressing room – it was obvious it was the one. My atelier, Voeux Couture, in Georgetown transformed the train and added a French lace border – which was the perfect final touch.

Tanner wore a custom suit and a custom tux, both from Alton Lane, and has been since convinced he needs an entire custom wardrobe. I found Tanner’s vintage gold wedding band on Etsy because I like the look of old, scuffed gold.

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

Most of all – we wanted to have fun. Our recipe was: the venue, the guest list, and the music.

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

It was really important to us to feel like we had enough quality time with everyone. Having most of the wedding stay on site with the rest close by was the biggest factor in making the whole weekend feel like a vacation.

Any tips for couples getting married?

The unspoken script of weddings can add a lot of pressure to the day. We were incredibly deliberate in choosing the elements that were important to us and getting rid of everything else. And of course - find an excellent wedding planner that you trust. It’s the only way you can feel like the guest of honor at your own wedding.

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

Our wedding planner: Noella from Wonder Events is beyond incredible. I think it’s hard to understate the challenge of planning a wedding abroad in another language – but she made it easy. She was an advisor through large and small decisions, helping us balance our budget and our vision. Noella assembled an incredible team of local vendors – many of whom she has worked with before. A local and specialist in South of France weddings, Noella was my ambassador on the ground and I trusted her implicitly. She went to my tastings and did my site visits. She sourced my dessert from her personal favorite bakery. She found the exact sound equipment we needed for the DJ. She took me wine tasting to pick out our local wedding wine. She even found and bought the little lamps I had on my mood board because she knew I wanted them. Once my decision fatigue set in, I fully handed over the reins and trusted her to lead the team to the finish line. In the end, her impeccable judgement and taste blew my expectations out of the water.

But it’s not just the planning – it’s her presence and intuition during the event that makes Noella truly remarkable. On the day, Noella was the perfect blend of the “laid-back European” yet nailed every detail meticulously. We had an unexpected heatwave, but Noella saved the day with gorgeous umbrellas and parasols for our guests. She found a way to set up our reception during the ceremony, so we were able to have a grand reveal in the front of the chateau for dinner. The entire day, she anticipated everything and discreetly guided the flow of the event – to the point that my guests and I were blissfully unaware yet perfectly on time. And when it came time to pivot – like when I asked mid-after party to re-set up by the pool because of the heat – she said it would be hard, but it could be done. And it was – in about 15 minutes.

Every little and big pivot we had to make– Noella made it look easy when it certainly was not. She was so on top of it all that it allowed me to truly be “lassiez faire.” I could go on and on – but ultimately, Noella went above and beyond. Why am I getting emotional? Because she really is that good.

Our florist, Estelle from Les Fleurs d’Alkonost is an artist. Armed with my mood board and my blessing to “do what she think best,” Estelle sourced all our flowers from the local market the morning of the wedding and created magic. It was both a surprise and exactly what I wanted.

Our caterer, Mets D’ici. When you’re a French caterer, you have (understandably) high expectations to meet. My guests still tell me about how incredible our wedding food was. Notably, I had multiple dietary restrictions (peanuts, dairy, etc.) and the catering team at Mets D’ici made sure everything was perfect.

Our photographer, Nicoletta Subitoni, captured the day exactly as I had hoped. I remember asking her if she needed to scout the light and she said “the light and I are friends, and I love when it is a surprise.” Most of all, she let us be totally in the moment and those ended up being our favorite pictures. While I could continue to gush – probably best to see for yourself.

Photography: Nicoletta Subitoni @nicolettasubitoni | Wedding Planner & Designer: Wonder Events