Little did I know when I was celebrating my birthday last year, this couple were also beautifully celebrating their love for one another. Emily, who works in international business development for a creative design agency in Paris, tied the knot with Taylor – a philosopher and film director who also works with an M&A firm in Los Angeles – on 28th September 2024.
Their ceremony took place at the breathtaking Oxford Oratory, a venue available only to Oxford University alumni and one of the city’s most striking historic spaces. The setting held special meaning for Taylor, who lived in Oxford for four years during his PhD, and it proved the perfect place for a wedding inspired by the English countryside – elegant, heartfelt and full of personal touches.
The wonderful James Kimberley Photography who we take pleasure in recommended to you, was there to capture it all, from the grandeur of the Oratory to the warm, relaxed atmosphere of their Queen’s College reception. Enjoy!
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Venue & Location
Taylor is from Cincinnati in Ohio in the US and I am from the Norfolk, English countryside, but we are currently living in Paris. It was very important for me to get married at ‘home’ in England, but we wanted to make sure that the location had strong sentiment for Taylor too, so Oxford seemed like the perfect place as Taylor lived there for four years during his PhD.
We wanted a setting that was beautiful and extraordinary but for the vibe to be relaxed and welcoming. With friends and family coming from different parts of the world, we sought to create an environment where people could connect and enjoy the experience together.
We wanted to involve family and friends in meaningful ways- our confetti was made from dried petals from bouquets Taylor had given me over the years, and our family contributed confetti from bouquets gifted to them from loved ones and from flowers from their gardens that they had lovingly grown. Everything was just inspired by love.
My mum made all the bouquets and buttonholes, my stepmother baked and designed our wedding cake, and my friend Lucie sang our first dance. These personal touches made the day feel truly special.
The Dress
Adriana Alier
My dress was ‘Azara’, by Adriana Alier, from La Crème in Norwich. We had such a wonderful experience there with Lucy and Jill.
Finding my wedding dress was an adventure. Coming over from Paris and with only one weekend to find it, my mum scheduled multiple appointments at various boutiques in Norfolk. By the time we arrived at La Crème in Norwich, I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. I had seen and tried on many beautiful dresses, but none that truly felt like me.
When I stepped into La Crème, my eyes were drawn to a dress with a stunning brocade fabric – something I had not seen in any of the previous boutiques. The intricate texture caught the light beautifully, adding depth without needing additional embellishments. However, I initially dismissed it as the skirt and train seemed grander than what I had envisioned.
Lucy encouraged me to try it on anyway, based on how I had described wanting something timeless and structured yet whimsical and romantic. The moment I put it on, I was overwhelmed with emotion, I burst into tears. It was the first dress that truly felt right. I tried on a couple of other gorgeous dresses afterward just to be sure, but I kept coming back to this one. When I put it on again, the tears returned, and I knew I had found the dress.
My mum told me after I had chosen the dress, that since I was a little girl, every time she walked past La Crème she got a feeling that it would be the boutique where we would find my wedding dress one day. It was just meant to be!
I was searching for a dress that was timeless and elegant, but that also had some aspect that made it stand out. I wanted to wear a wedding dress that I had never seen before, something fashion forward and a bit different that people wouldn’t necessarily be expecting. I also just really wanted the dress to reflect my personality and to feel like a bridal version of me on the day.
I enjoy structured and tailored clothing, but have a whimsical and romantic side to my personality that I wanted to highlight on the day. I was not in the market for a princess skirt, initially looking for something a little less full, but I felt like the drama of the skirt and fabric juxtaposed with the corset bodice, the simplicity of the cut and round neck and the open back. It was the perfect combination of drama and elegance.
Despite its volume, the fabric was incredibly light and effortless to move in. This wasn’t something I had thought about during my search, but I am so grateful that it was so light and breathable as I completely forgot I was wearing it on the day and danced the night away with ease.
The buttons all the way down the back that added a classic touch and the pockets were the final details that made me fall in love with this dress; it brought back forgotten memories of me saying as a young girl that these were the two things I wanted on my wedding dress one day!
The veil was bespoke, by a local Norwich based company called Sweet Pea Bridal. A fabulous mother-daughter duo who designed and hand made the veil to fit with the look & style of my dress.
I had been searching for a veil for a while, but it was very difficult to get a 90 inch veil with a hip length blush in the kind of material I wanted. Given the embossed fabric of the dress, lace would have been too busy, but my mum was convinced I need a little sparkle given that the wedding dress didn’t have any. It was a true occasion of mums know best!
I wore a pair of dusky blue suede Louboutin’s, with spool heel. Gifted to me as my ‘Cinderella shoe’, from my fashionista step-mum. A classic, and an important incorporation of France on the day.
My scent was Chanel No. 5, a gift from two friends for my 30th birthday. It was another incorporation of France, on the day.
All of my bridesmaids have very different personalities and body shapes, and I wanted them to all feel beautiful on the day. As such, I chose the colour and some rules (at least mid-calf length, not too revealing, no slits) and they chose the dresses! I think that all looked gorgeous, and most importantly, themselves, on the day.
Beyond being a fabulous make-up artist, super responsive, flexible, easy-going and professional Becky of Bride by Becky is also just a wonderful person. She kept me relaxed, happy and feeling confident on the morning of my wedding, despite having to deal with some complicated external circumstances (the second make-up artist couldn’t make it due to a family emergency, so Becky had to do everyone on her own). I couldn’t recommend her more!
Jewellery wise, I wore two rings, gifted to me by my mum on my 18th and 21st birthdays. I also wore a necklace, lent to me by my dear friend and bridesmaid Tiziana. It was the same necklace that she wore to her wedding. I wore earrings and a bracelet that were gifted to me years ago by my father and Stepmother, Gill. My husband also gifted me a gold bracelet with a solitary diamond after the ceremony that I wore for the rest of the day. I gifted him a first edition of his favourite book “Brideshead Revisited”, a link to Oxford University.
The Ceremony
Our ceremony was held at Oxford Oratory, Oxford, England. A church that holds great personal significance for us, as it was where Taylor converted to Catholicism while completing his PhD at Oxford—a place that marked a pivotal chapter in his life and now, in ours. The beauty of the building, its rich history, and its connection to many English Catholic writers made it a meaningful choice for our wedding ceremony.
The religious ceremony was also central to our wedding. As Catholic converts, we wanted a traditional ceremony that reflected our faith. The vast majority of our friends and family aren’t Catholic, and we were really inspired to share with them the incredible beauty of the mass in a traditional setting that mixed polyphonic and Gregorian chant elements.
My father accompanied me to the venue and down the aisle. It was a very special moment that I will cherish forever. Our photographer, James, made us a surprise video with this clip in, and it bought all the emotions of the day rushing back. We were accompanied by the sound of
Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Prelude to the Te Deum in D Major (on Organ) as we arrived at the ceremony.
My bridesmaids, Aneta, Anna, Tiziana and Christine and my niece and flower girl Rosie walked down the aisle before me, and my two junior bridesmaids, my husband’s nieces, Mary and Julia, helped me with my dress train and walked down the aisle behind me. They took their job as ‘dress fluffers’ very seriously.
Our ceremony readings included Song of Solomon – it’s always a little surprising to find that this romantic, even intimate, portrayal of love is straight from the Bible. Something about it still feels fresh thousands of years after its composition.
Our rings were by Rouxel Freres, Paris. Friends of ours (our bridesmaid & groomsman) had their marriage bands made here. They’re a go-to jeweler for Parisian Catholics.
Photography
Our photographer was James Kimberley – he was a dream to work with! Taylor and I are both pretty laid back, and wanted to work with people that we felt like we could get on with on a personal level.
After the first call with James we knew that it had to be him! I had of course already seen his portfolio, and loved his style, and from talking to him, it was clear that he just understood the kind of look and experience we wanted.
On the day he was discreetly everywhere. I can’t believe how many special moments he captured, it feels like he must have been in five places at once.
The Reception
Taylor was keen for our reception and food/wine choices to mirror how we would normally host; a dinner party but for a much larger crowd!
My mum, did all of the bouquets, flower baskets, button holes and flowers for the church (other than the two urns). Myself and two of my bridesmaids and my step mum made all of the bud vases – a mix of vintage ink pots and French lemonade bottles to honour literature and France, for the dinner tables.
Our wedding cake was made by my stepmother, Gill, who is a wonderful amateur baker. I knew that asking loved ones to create important elements of the wedding might feel like a big responsibility, but for us, the perfect day was about love and connection rather than aesthetic perfection (although in the end we got both!).
Gill is incredibly dedicated and creative, so we trusted her completely, but we were still amazed by the result. I initially shared mood boards featuring simple designs, but she encouraged me to include more intricate cakes I admired. I had seen her carefully crafting delicate sugar flowers in the kitchen, but I didn’t see the final cake until the day before the wedding—it was beyond anything we had imagined.
The top and bottom layers were traditional English fruit cake with a marzipan icing, and the middle layer was a maple syrup sponge with blueberry jam for a touch of America for my husband.
My mum is incredibly creative amateur florist who loves flower arranging and gardening, but had never provided event flowers before. The thought of holding a bouquet made by her was so special to me, I feel like the love put into all of these elements we asked our friends and family to help with would be so present on the day and make everything just that much more magical.
All of our flowers were provided by Anna Brown, owner of a local Oxfordshire flower farm, Brown Flowers. Her flowers are exclusively British and seasonal, which was incredibly important to us – we wanted to respect the environment, support local growers and celebrate the beauty of the English countryside. Again, like with all of our suppliers, I feel like it was fate that we worked together. From our first conversation, Anna and I clicked instantly.
For the Tables, we had bud vases with a mix of vintage ink pots and French lemonade bottles to honour literature and France. We tied velvet ribbons to the candelabras.
I sent her some mood boards I had created, but ultimately, I trusted her experience and savoir-faire to select the most beautiful blooms for the day. When the buckets arrived the day before the wedding, I couldn’t believe how stunning each stem was. Her relaxed and thoughtful approach made the whole process stressless and joyful. The two urns in the church were provided by Lucy from The Flower Shop, Oxford.
I did all the design of the stationery (invitations, place cards) myself . My friend and bridesmaid Anna helped me make the main invitation and my sister-in-law Heather (Taylors younger sister) drew us a beautiful map of Oxford with iconic landmarks to help all of our guests find their way from the church to Queen’s College for the reception. Our bridesmaid & groomsman (Christine & Joel) made the order of the day booklets. Menus were courtesy of Queen’s College.
We provided hand made Norfolk fudge, by a small local business called Why The Fudge for our guests as gifts. We wanted to support smaller local businesses as much as possible and give out international guests a taste of my home!
Evening & Dancing
Our first dance was to ‘For me… Formidable’, by Charles Aznavour, sung by my wonderfully talented friend Lucie. We thought that it was the perfect mix of Paris and America that matches my husband and I.
One of my biggest fears was an empty dance floor. Taylor and I spent an evening with a bottle of wine, dancing and adding all of our favourite songs to a playlist to help Stuart get an idea of what we liked. And he took it from there!
Our DJ, Stuart Lee was incredible, he really got a feel for the room (which wasn’t easy given the international aspect of the crowd) and the dancefloor was packed the whole night.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
A friend told me that a wedding is often the first and last time a couple manages to get all of the people that mean so much to them in one space, and, living far away from many of our friends and family, this really resonated with us.
A wedding is often the first big party you throw as a couple, how do you want to entertain going forward? We would advise not to get caught up in all the things that you “should have” and “should do” but rather sit down together, decide what is truly important to you both individually and as a couple. How do you want to feel on the day? How do you want your guests to feel? And then go about designing the experience based upon this central vision.
We had our ceremony at 1pm, but it would have been nice to do it an hour earlier, even if it meant getting up at an even more ungodly hour. Certain things were very time crunched, particularly managing the photos during the reception. That said, we wish we would have kept the portrait photos to a minimum and allowed the photographer more time for natural photos, as well as a few more couple shots. We had so much fun that we would have also liked to have more time for partying!
We knew that hosting a wedding would be expensive, but we also didn’t have a lot of money to spend on the day, so we tried to keep costs down wherever possible.
We managed to cut down on expenses by doing a lot of things ourselves, which also matched with our vision and lifestyle; second hand, local, handmade (invitations, cake, flowers, buying second hand decorations) and thanks to our fabulously talented friend and family (which we wanted to do for memories sake anyway).
We hosted a buffet dinner and drinks at an Oxford pub the evening before the wedding. This was for the bridal party and extended family only. It was a great opportunity to introduce our families and spend quality time with them, so we felt less pressure to talk with everyone during the day.
This led to a much more relaxed wedding reception where we felt like we could simply enjoy ourselves. We also invited all of our guests to join us for a walk out to a country pub the day after the wedding, which again was a great way to spend time with our people who made pretty significant journeys to come celebrate with us. We wanted to make it a weekend event.
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