When Kate came across Chad on a dating app in New York, she was initially drawn in by his profile’s “two truths and a lie” prompt. “He claimed he was vegan,” Kate remembers. “I grew up vegan, so I thought this was a sign and started imagining all the vegan restaurants we’d explore together. But on our second date to get ice cream, he ordered plain, non-vegan vanilla, revealing his lie.” It no longer mattered: “By then, I was already too head over heels to care!”
After dating for a while, Chad proposed in front of Martha’s Vineyard's iconic lighthouse. And once engaged, the couple knew their wedding would also be a personal reflection of themselves, harkening back to a very special summer they shared. “One of our favorite adventures as a couple was spontaneously living in Paris for a summer, so we knew we wanted to do our wedding somewhere in France,” Chad says. “My husband grew up in the Caribbean, and I grew up close to the beach in Los Angeles, so getting married by the ocean was also important to us," Kate adds.
Saint-Tropez offered the best of both worlds and more. “It blends everything we love together, from a charming town, to hiking, vineyards, markets, beautiful restaurants, and of course the ocean,” Kate says. “Chateau Messardierehas the most beautiful view we’ve ever seen, and we instantly fell in love.”
They worked with destination wedding expertsWillow & Oak and tapped Over The Moon The List Photographer Kristen Marie Parker and Videographer Moon & Back to document the multi-day event. For fashion, they collabed with stylist Anny Choi. “She did an exceptional job of capturing our vision with outfits that truly reflected who we are as a couple and the essence of each event’s location,” Kate says. And while her strapless floral-embroidered wedding dress was a stunner, it was all of the other looks that she had the most fun with. “We loved our outfits for the white party welcome dinner, which paid homage to Saint-Tropez’s fishing village roots,” Kate says. “I wore a minidress with a starfish and seashell print, paired with vintage starfish earrings. My husband wore a linen suit, made from fabric that—in the best way possible—looked as though it had been hanging on a clothesline by the ocean, exposed to just the right amount of saltwater and sunshine.”
But Kate's absolute favorite look was for the reception. “I wore the sheer Rime ArodakyFalling Star dress with a matching cape,” Kate says. “A highlight of the process was meeting Rime in New York. She’s incredibly cool, and as someone who is French and familiar with Saint-Tropez, she understood my wedding venues perfectly.” Fanny Wong gave Kate an ethereal hair and makeup look to match the vibe.
On June 1, 2024, Kate and Chad wed beneath two massive trees overlooking a valley of vineyards. “Our siblings officiated together, and their touching and poignant remarks that described us perfectly were the best gift we could ask for,” the bride says. “Of course, Chad’s vows were the highlight of the weekend for me, and getting to share our love with our closest friends and family was even more special than either of us imagined.”
Canapés and cocktails followed the ceremony, then guests moved into the dinner reception space, outfitted with linens and rentals from Pelican House, Nuage Designs, Maison Maragux, Lounge & Linger. Siloh Floral set stunning tablescapes of fresh green and white flowers atop floral-patterned linens. Guests enjoyed a meal of pea risotto and whitefish with French cream sauce, then transitioned to the hotel’s sister property, Pan de Palais, for dancing. “We hired an obscure Swedish rock band called Hall Kaften, who we had seen perform at a friend’s wedding,” Kate says. “We wanted to put our own spin on the traditional first dance, so instead our wedding planners came up with the idea to have our band play their first song, ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine,’ from the windows of the villa where the reception took place, and then the band ran down to the stage with us following and dancing behind them. It was exactly the whimsical experience we hoped that it would be.”
At midnight, things got even sillier. “One of our guests had the idea to hire camel costumes and sparklers from a nearby restaurant, Salama,” Kate remembers. “They had my little brother put the camel costume on as a surprise and run through the party dancing with guests. It was the perfect expression of the spontaneity we’d envisioned, and the fact that it was a surprise made it all the more memorable.” Then, DJ Jamie kept the energy up until the early hours of the morning.
