Patrick and Nicole met in high school and, somehow, have lived a hundred lives together since, building careers, traveling, and moving through every high and low along the way. “We’ve always been very much our own people,” Nicole says, “but never without each other.” Through it all, they’ve had Juicy, their nineteen-year-old dog, who has traveled the world with them nearly every step of the way. Paris was the first place they ever traveled internationally together, and it quickly became “our place,” a little chaotic, a little romantic, a little unexpected, exactly how Nicole describes the two of them. Some days it’s loud and vibrant, other days it’s quiet and grounding, and it lets you be whoever you want to be, which is exactly how their relationship has always worked.
Location: Paris, France
Style: Chic, Romantic, Effortless
Time of planning: 6 months
Number of guests: 63
Setting: Private River Cruise & Hotel
Season: Summer
They spent a long time just living before getting married ever felt important. So when they finally did, it wasn’t about starting something new, it was about honoring everything that already existed. “We wanted to bring the people we love most into that feeling, in a place that means so much to us, and celebrate the nineteen years that got us there,” Nicole says. “It was never about the wedding for us. It was about the life we’d already built, and the one we’re still creating.”
Pierre Froger Films handled the day’s video, shooting on Super 8 alongside more traditional formats to capture the quiet in-between moments with the same care as the bigger ones, in a style that felt warm and unhurried from start to finish.
Boat Ceremony
The plan, as far as guests knew, was a relaxed welcome party the night before the wedding, a boat on the Seine with the Eiffel Tower in view. What they didn’t know was that Patrick and Nicole had something else in mind entirely. Midway through the evening, in the pouring rain, the couple surprised everyone with their actual ceremony, right there on the boat, the Eiffel Tower lit up behind them. “It was chaotic, emotional, and completely perfect,” Nicole says.
The whole thing was built around a specific instinct: less structure, more presence. “We wanted something experiential and unexpected,” Nicole says, and the rain only underscored that. Afterward, guests were treated to a surprise delivery from Dumbo, the couple’s favorite smashburger spot in Paris, who had never done anything like it before. Modern, non-traditional, and completely unannounced. “No one saw it coming,” Nicole says. “The rain and the setting made it unforgettable.”
Fashion
Nicole knew right away that a traditional dress wasn’t going to work. “I knew a traditional dress wasn’t going to work, so I went with a hand-sewn, one-shoulder white Taller Marmo dress with ostrich feathers, flowy, asymmetrical, and just the right amount of drama,” she says. Beauty leaned vintage too, a bold red lip and soft pin curls, finished with velvet red Jimmy Choos.
“Accessories were minimal but meaningful,” she added, vintage YSL earrings and a wedding band made from her grandparents’ ashes, a detail far more personal than any accessory could be. The fragrance was Le Labo Santal.
For the first night, Patrick wanted something elevated but relaxed, tailored without tipping into formal. He wore a custom light blue jacket in a wool-cashmere blend with crisp white trousers, a nod to the nautical setting, finished with linen loafers and a boutonniere that matched the event’s floral design.
The second night called for something more formal, a shift that felt deliberate. He switched into a custom off-white tuxedo jacket with mother-of-pearl buttons, classic black tuxedo pants, and black suede loafers. The accessories carried more weight this time around, especially a custom-designed brooch made to resemble Juicy, a detail that made the whole look feel deeply personal.
Planning & Decor
The vision was for something that felt like it belonged to another time, an intimate dinner party where you invite the artists, the intellectuals, and everyone in between to sit around one table. “A night where people show up in feathered, ornate looks that reflect who they are, and tuxes that feel a little worn in, because that’s just what you did,” Nicole says. Less about perfection, more about energy and individuality, a glimpse into how she imagined it would have felt back then. Romantic, expressive, a little dramatic, and completely them.
Once they found Alicia, their wedding planner at Milos Events, the process fell into place. “She made the process feel really natural, everything just clicked,” Nicole says. From there, the focus stayed on building experiences that felt authentic to them, not simply what a wedding is “supposed” to be.
Bold reds, layered textures, and unique table settings with fruit, heavy velvets, and pieces that felt collected instead of curated ran through the whole event. The hotel already carried so much character that building on it came naturally, everything falling into place without much resistance. “More than anything, it felt like what our home would look like,” Nicole says, “everything we’ve collected over the years, pieces from our travels, layered together in a way that tells our story.” Filling that space with the people who matter most to them, and, naturally, their dog Juicy served as the only member of the wedding party. “Exactly as it should be.”
Reception
One of the most memorable moments of the night revolved around champagne. Patrick is known for sabering champagne bottles, so it naturally worked its way into the evening, alongside champagne towers and mother-of-pearl caviar bumps passed around during the after-party. “And of course, cigarettes, when in Paris,” Nicole says.
Watching Patrick saber a vintage bottle of Krug and toast the whole room stood out above everything else. “It was surreal and perfect,” she says.
Signature cocktails carried their own personality through the night, each one named with a wink. The Bada Bing, a spin on an old fashioned, promised “a kiss of sweetness with a little bada-boom,” built from bourbon, bitters, sugar, orange peel, and a Bada Bing cherry. Le Dirty, a dirty martini, “came dressed for drama,” vodka, dry vermouth, olive brine, and served, as promised, with attitude. And Gin & Juicy, a French 75 named for the couple’s dog, kept things light: gin, lemon, champagne, sugar, “pop, sip, repeat, Juicy approves.”
The setting did most of the work here. With the hotel already carrying so much personality, decor stayed minimal, and the focus shifted to details that felt more unexpected. Tables were layered with unique florals mixed with fruit, and each guest found a handwritten card waiting for them. Corinna Keiser was behind the camera throughout, and her photos carry the same energy the couple was chasing all along.
Into The Night
The energy built steadily as the night went on. Live piano singers set the tone early, before the mood shifted into something more playful with burlesque dancers weaving through the space. It came together as a series of moments stacked on top of one another, more evening than event, intimate, indulgent, a little irreverent, built to keep people guessing all night long.
"What made our wedding feel so unique was that we really stayed true to what we wanted. It sounds simple, but it’s not, especially with so much outside input."
Advice from the couple:
• The best advice would be to keep it close to you and your partner when planning. We found the more we talked to people about it, the less it started to feel like us. Be true to what you actually want and lean into the parts that feel fun, personal, and memorable, not the things you feel like you’re supposed to do.
• Also, don’t be afraid to keep a little mystery. Some of the best moments come from letting people experience things in real time, without over-explaining or over-planning every detail. Those are the parts everyone remembers.
• And if something feels a little extra, a little indulgent, or slightly unnecessary, it’s probably the right call. Those are usually the moments that end up meaning the most.
VIDEOGRAPHY Pierre Froger Films | PLANNING Milos Events | DESIGNER Marie Dujardin | PHOTOGRAPHY Corinna Keiser | BOAT Canauxrama | HOTEL Hôtel Particulier Montmartre | FOOD Dumbo Paris | MAKEUP Flowenchy | RINGS Ring Concierge & Alxndr the Jeweler | OFFICIANTS Anastacia Kasmer & Marcel Kasmer | MOH Mamabelllle
