Albina and her now-husband met at university, where they both majored in computer science and became close friends long before anything romantic was on the table. After graduation, life pulled them in completely different directions, Albina stayed in the U.S. and built a career in tech, eventually launching a YouTube channel where she interviews notable figures from around the world, while he moved abroad to pursue startups. About five years passed before their paths crossed again, when Albina flew to Dubai to interview the first female Emirati racing driver for her channel, and he reached out to catch up while she was in town. One night, two dirty martinis, and a kiss later, everything changed. Three months after that, he proposed.
Location: South of France, Provence
Style: Rococo, Salem witches, Casual brunch
Time of planning: 2,5 months
Number of guests: 70
Setting: Chateau
Season: Spring (April)
Their wedding turned into a three-day celebration that moved from Rococo elegance to gothic drama and back to something soft and easy by the final brunch, the kind of weekend that left us with more questions than we could fit into one conversation. So we asked Albina to walk us through it.
Tell us about the inspiration behind the wedding.
The first day was inspired by Rococo aesthetics – soft femininity, powdered colors, bows, corsets, pastries, gardens, excess and theatrical beauty. But emotionally, the inspiration came from my husband’s childhood. He spent most of it in the South of France, surrounded by châteaus, nature, old architecture and tiny cafés with perfect pastries. I wanted the wedding to feel like stepping into one of those memories.
The second day was the opposite of the first. The inspiration came from Salem, dark folklore, Halloween aesthetics and the feminine mysticism I’ve always been drawn to. Since Massachusetts is the place where I truly became an adult, I wanted to bring a small piece of that world into the South of France. The guest dress code palette was black, burgundy, deep red and dark purple and my guests absolutely exceeding my expectations – everybody looked stunning and on theme. Walking into the room felt like entering some gothic masquerade or vampire ball. We had a burgundy draped tent with candlelight everywhere, dark florals and dramatic textures.
Dress Code
Tell us about your wedding looks.
Visually, the first day was inspired by François Boucher’s paintings and Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. One of my favorite parts of the wedding was the dress story. About a year before, I posted on Instagram saying I wanted a small designer or student to create my dress, to support young talent. That’s how I found Lucia, my Instagram follower and a fashion student from Spain.
Everybody told me it was risky to trust someone so young with such a big day, but I related to her immediately, having experienced ageism myself in tech and building my company. I flew to Barcelona to meet her, and we spent months developing the look together: fabrics, sketches, silhouettes, references. The final dress became a mix of Rococo, theatrical costume design, and soft feminine fantasy, and by the wedding day, it felt like the dress carried an actual story inside it.
For the ceremony look, I wore a custom gown by Elie Saab. The entire story started because of my father. He has always been obsessed with the brand and Lebanese weddings in general, so he really insisted that I at least try on a few dresses. At first, nothing truly felt like “the one.” But then the stylists offered to create a custom dress for me. The moment I heard the price, I literally laughed because I thought there was absolutely no way I could justify spending that much money on a dress. However, the team started bringing out actual haute couture pieces from Paris Fashion Week to show me different silhouettes and structures, and the second I tried them on, I completely understood the obsession.
Looking back, I realized the dress became much more emotional for my father than I initially understood. He’s a self-made man, and for him this wasn’t just about fashion or luxury. He kept saying it was important to start traditions like this in the family – that one day his granddaughters would look at these photos and expect no less from their fathers and future partners. Once he explained it that way, I stopped seeing the dress as just an expensive purchase and began to see it as something symbolic. Elie Saab created the full look – the dress, the shoes, the accessories, and even the flowers, and now I get to keep this art in my home.
For the reception dress, I ended up wearing Annie’s Ibiza, and the story behind it was chaos in the best way possible. My sisters and I planned this entire girls’ shopping trip to New York, where we would spend the day together searching for dresses. But the second we arrived, there was a massive snowstorm. By the time things finally reopened, my sisters were about to leave, and we had maybe two hours to shop. I tried on this dress and corset, and immediately my sister looked at me and said, “This is literally Salem witches energy. You have to buy it.” And she was completely right. It looked like something a modern vampire bride or a character from a fantasy film would wear, which honestly was exactly the vibe I wanted.
Could you tell us more about the guest dress code?
A few of my friends texted me before the wedding, sending photos of their outfits and asking, “Is this too much?” And my answer, every single time, was: “There’s no such thing as too much.” I think nowadays we rarely get opportunities to fully dress up and romanticize life, so, through the dress code, I wanted people to feel beautiful, expressive, and slightly theatrical for a weekend. We also had a boudoir room during the wedding where guests could come in and pick up accessories connected to each theme – ribbons, gloves, pearls and more dramatic gothic-inspired pieces for the second day.
For the first day, the inspiration was Rococo-era Provence. The second day completely shifted into “Salem Night,” which was darker, gothic, and much more dramatic. The palette became black, burgundy, crimson, dark plum and earthy tones, while guests were encouraged to play with corsetry, lace, layered fabrics and richer textures. And then for the final brunch day, we intentionally softened everything again with relaxed silhouettes, breathable fabrics and a much calmer atmosphere after two very theatrical days.
Venue & Ceremony
Our wedding took place at Château de la Gaude, a historic château in the South of France surrounded by vineyards and gardens. The property dates to the 18th century and originally belonged to Provençal nobility. We originally chose it because we fell in love with the garden where the ceremony would be held.
Planning & Design
Tell us about the planning process.
We started planning the wedding almost a year in advance and originally hired another wedding planner. But honestly… nothing was working out. As months went by, we realized that almost no progress was being made, and about three months before the wedding, we had nothing except the venue. So, on New Year’s night, in full panic mode, we got in touch with Anna from We Create. I still remember her telling us: “Don’t worry, we’ll make it on time.” And somehow, her team really did the impossible.
Together with my middle sister Veronica, who became not only my emotional support but also a creative director of this wedding, they managed to organize the entire wedding in about 2.5 months. When I walked into the wedding itself, so many things were a surprise to me for the first time, and thankfully, a very beautiful surprise. I genuinely felt like a guest inside my own dream world. So huge shoutout to Anna and the entire We Create team, and especially to my beautiful sister Veronica, because without them none of this would have happened.
What's the story behind your color palette?
I know that traditionally weddings are often designed around soft pastel palettes and “timeless” aesthetics that won’t look dated in 20 years. But our goal was never to create a timeless wedding. We wanted to create something that reflected our personalities rather than trends. We’re both very emotional, expressive, and creative people, so going with something overly minimal or neutral simply wouldn’t feel authentic. Even if those colors eventually become “dated,” I’d honestly still prefer that over creating something that didn’t feel like us.
Tell us about the menu and how you selected the drinks.
Food was actually a very important part of the experience for us because so many guests flew in from different parts of the world, and we really wanted them to experience the South of France through the cuisine as well. Guests enjoyed dishes like foie gras with cocoa and tamarind glaze, mint ravioli with burrata and lemon, olive oil confit turbot, or herb-smoked rack of lamb. The drinks were also designed around the themes and became one of my favorite details. Instead of classic cocktail names, we had names like “Ignis Occultus,” “Spiritus Noctis,” and “Elixir Vitae,” which fit perfectly into the darker atmosphere of the second evening.
For the cake, we went with something slightly unexpected: matcha flavor. I love desserts that feel elegant and not overly sweet, and matcha felt very fresh and balanced after such rich dinners throughout the weekend (plus it is my husband’s favorite drink).
What made the day unique?
My favorite part of the wedding, apart from the ceremony itself, was probably the Georgian National Ballet performance we invited for the reception. For my family, it was much more than entertainment — it felt like bringing the soul of the Caucasian mountains into the wedding. My father is from Dagestan and my mother was born and raised in Tbilisi, so it was very important for us to introduce our international guests to a part of our culture and heritage.
There’s something incredibly emotional and powerful about those performances — the precision, the music, the strength and elegance at the same time. It felt like one of those rare moments where culture, family history and emotion all came together in a very beautiful way.
One of my favorite details was our first kiss as a married couple. The music came from Castlevania – a show inspired by Dracula’s curse. And then, somehow, in the middle of all this gothic chaos, our first dance ended up being incredibly emotional because it was to a song from Anastasia, one of my favorite childhood movies growing up. Dancing to this song while looking into my husband’s beautiful blue eyes was one of the best moments of my life.
I think that’s why the second day worked so well emotionally. Underneath all the gothic aesthetics, it was deeply nostalgic – a mix of folklore, childhood memories, Halloween obsession, Slavic symbolism and the American world that shaped my husband and I into who we are today.
The most memorable moment for me happened after everything was over. My husband and I came back to our room still wearing our formal outfits after celebrating all night with our friends and family. The room had these huge windows overlooking the gardens where we had gotten married just a few hours earlier, and outside we could still hear the wedding continuing and our friends partying.
Advice from the couple:
• Hire people who care and understand your vision.
