Trish + Kyle by Claire Lejeune Visuals

We wanted our wedding to feel like a chic Parisian night out.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

I (Trish) am a marketing director at a successful American tech startup (Teal), and Kyle is a clinical pharmacist turned medical writer. We both share a love of words and beautiful things, making film and literature a cornerstone in our relationship. We have lived between the United States and Paris, France, for the last 3 years, trying to build a home and lifestyle that represents the best qualities of both places and our love for the European laissez-faire mentality with American ambition. We love nothing more than sitting with an excellent bottle of red wine in a Parisian café, while watching people pass and sharing a cheeky cigarette or two. We both very much enjoy fashion, and bond over our love for personal style

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

Our love story is quite unique – we met on Tinder in 2015. I was about to move to France and start my life abroad, while Kyle was in pharmacy school, getting his doctorate. Kyle was fresh off a breakup, looking for friendship, and I was about to leave the country for an indefinite amount of time – not the makings of a good relationship to start. But, we had the most lovely conversations, enjoyed a little flirt and a brief but memorable connection. We never met in person, but the memory was solid enough to stick in our minds for the next decade to come. In November 2022, I came home from France for the holidays, and my mom asked me if I was going to go on a date and, if so, with whom? Kyle immediately came to mind. I open Tinder nearly 10 years later, and he is the 2nd person I see. We matched, and with a mutual “I remember you”, we went on the date we should have had all of those years ago. Of course, it was love at first sight and a connection that felt deep and calm and pure. It felt like we had known each other our entire lives. We were both also taken aback at each other’s personal style in the best way – my dark European aesthetic matched his rock n roll chic perfectly.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).

We wanted our wedding to feel like a chic Parisian night out – a casual air of sophistication and that effortlessly cool Parisian energy. Our goal was to have the locations act as the centrepieces of the wedding, so little decor or styling was needed – we chose locations based on their beauty alone and the energy they curate in the space. For that reason, we chose private tables in seasonal restaurants in museums so we could enjoy the art, culture, and the benefit of other people since our wedding was so small. I wanted the events to feel intimate and cool, like a formal night out in the most beautiful city in the world.

What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee, etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).

The beauty of our locations – for all of the events, we were either at a museum or next to one. We wanted to be surrounded by art, culture, and the beauty of what makes Paris so iconic. We wanted it to be sculptural, fashion-forward, traditional, but with a modern twist. We had very little styling in the actual venues as we didn’t want to take away from the beauty of the spaces. My dress was made to match – structural and modern but with a traditional twist that keeps things timeless.

What did you enjoy most about the planning process, and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?

Meeting all of the wonderful, creative people! Our wedding planners, our photographer and content creator, dress designer, etc. They all deeply understood the vision of what we were trying to create and captured it beautifully. I got to meet people and have creative conversations that I never would have before, and seeing them do their work was inspiring on every level. Any advice I have for other couples would be to find people who see your vision and can expand upon it. My vision was limited to only what I know, but finding people who can help curate your experience with their own expertise and experience is key to getting so much out of your day. Also, choose people you LIKE – it made the weekend so much better as I built relationships and friendships with our vendors.

Tell us about your vendors. Were there any standout suppliers you would like to make special mention of?

Special mention to our wedding planner, Marion, and her team, as well as our Photographer, Claire, and content creator, Katie. They 3 carried our wedding, and Marion truly worked miracles as our wedding got pushed up by over a year, and she still managed to pull off the weekend of a lifetime in under 3 months. Marion found us our dream venues and presented options to Kyle and me. I never would have been able to find or negotiate on my own. She is sharp, fierce, brilliant, and a kind, lovely person who made sure I had my best day, no matter what. Claire is brilliant with a camera and also a dear friend. She saw our vision and was able to not only achieve it but also build on it by scouting perfect locations and doing it all in such a short amount of time. The same goes for Katie, a content creator who didn’t miss a single important moment. She was there for me as soon as I was getting ready, and it felt like having a friend with me all day long. The content she captured was truly incredible. Can’t recommend them enough!

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story?

My favourite topic! My wedding dress is from Seline Meisler, a niche luxury wedding designer in her first year of launching her brand. I found her on TikTok, then Instagram, when she only had 1k followers, and I knew as soon as I saw her work that this was the dress I needed. I had tried on over 100 dresses but couldn’t find something that fit my aesthetic: Modern, unique, not something you can find on any traditional bridal floor or boutique, something beautiful and different. Because we were having a smaller wedding, I felt a ballgown to be ‘too much’, but I still wanted something with a little drama with the skirt. The Ava Skirt was just that, not quite a ball gown but not slinky and sexy either – it was perfect for our wedding and the drama and couture of getting married in the Louvre gardens. Seline found a spot for me to try on samples at her atelier in NYC, and I took a train from DC to NYC, then took a red-eye home to Paris just to make this appointment. Seline was kind, funny, and truly available to make anything I wanted. Her work is exquisite, and I’m so proud to wear her work before she inevitably becomes famous!

My welcome event look was a simple white corset and skirt to give a rock n roll bridal glam outfit. I wanted something a bit sexy and chic to show off my edgier side before jumping into bridal elegance. Kyle wore a custom wool grey suit on our wedding day to give it a tux-like feel without the heat of wearing black in a heatwave. He wanted to wear something simple, understated, and elegant and decided to add suspenders at the last minute to add a bit of vintage flair to his look.

Portraits + Welcome Dinner

Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.

I love a sexy ring stack and wanted something a little different from the traditional wedding band (are we sensing a theme? Lol). My engagement ring is a three-stone setting with a large radiant cut lab diamond and two round stones on the sides. The magic of this ring is seeing it from the side, where the centre stone is set in diamond flowers and looks very fairy-like and ethereal. My wedding band is a 6mm gold cigar band, which adds edge and uniqueness to my more traditional engagement ring. I wanted something contrasting to the diamonds and love the thick feel of the larger band and how it complements my personal style. Kyle wanted nothing more than a traditional gold wedding band; he had been dreaming about it for years and had a 3mm comfort-fit gold ring from a niche shop on Etsy. Simple and understated was his goal 🙂 We wanted lab diamonds from the beginning, as I deeply believe in the ethical practices of lab diamonds vs natural ones.

What were one or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).

Photographer and venue, hands down. They were the most expensive elements of our wedding, and those I regret the least. Not only do both live in our memories forever, but I think the photographer can capture intimate moments that are wonderful to look back on for many years to come. For the venue, as they were the centre of our wedding, I was happy to spend more on them than on anything else.

Was there a favourite moment (or two) that you will treasure always?

There was a moment before the after party where the sun had set, dinner was over, and we were just visiting with our guests and chatting. All of a sudden, I turn around and see the Eiffel Tower sparkling, and I feel Kyle come up behind me, and we just get to take in that moment together, finally married, in our favourite city, surrounded by our favourite people. It was truly a moment people write novels about, that feeling of pure joy and a little bit of sadness, because you know this moment will end soon. It was such a gift. The second moment was the after-after-after party. Kyle and I have never stayed up all night together before, and we committed to doing so on our wedding night. We walked along the Seine River, bottles of champagne in hand, with our friends who managed to stay up all night with us, and just watched the sunrise over the city. Again, it was one of those – I have to write this down – moments that I’ll never forget, as long as I live.