The Bride Wore a 13-Foot Floral Veil for Her All-Night Wedding at a Provence Chateau
Quinten Richardson truly believes his first encounter with Elif Erguvan was a miracle. In 2021, he was crossing a street in London, distracted by his phone. So distracted, in fact, that he failed to notice a black cab had sped around the corner. A stranger pulled him out of the way just in time. “In shock, the first words out of my mouth were, ‘You saved my life. How can I ever repay you?’”
“How about a drink?” Elif said back.
Two years later, they got engaged on a rainy night in Notting Hill. Quinten, a city planner, asked Elif, an interior and furniture designer with her own studio, if she wanted to get dinner at neighborhood pub The Pelican. He got down on one knee right outside its doors. After she said yes, he led her up to The Pelican’s private room, where all her family and friends were waiting to celebrate.
In August 2024, the two wed in Provence. “I grew up spending most of my summers in the South of France, specifically in the village of Mougins, where my family has had a home for close to 20 years,” Quinten says. “After many trips to Mougins together, Elif and I knew we wanted to have our wedding somewhere in the region.” They decided to wed at Château d’Estoublon—a former medieval estate turned hotel and vineyard.
Along with Brussels-based wedding planner Guendalina Litta Modignani, the artistic couple—who now co-run a design and development firm, Superattico, together—set out to plan a highly original wedding weekend.
The festivities began with a welcome party at Carrières des Lumière, a former quarry turned art center. Although the guests didn’t know that until they arrived, with the couple opting to keep the venue a surprise. The only thing they knew? The dress code: “nuit blanche,” or white night in English.
The mystique was well worth it. “Our guests arrived in complete awe to the internal space of Carrières de Lumiéres, greeted with Champagne and a cavernous room filled with ever-changing scenes of impressionist art,” says Elif. A family-style dinner was served on long, candlelit tables that stretched the length of the atrium as a harpist played on.
The raw, brutalist setting inspired Elif’s look for the evening: a light, flowing taffeta and silk dress designed by her sister, who owns the fashion brand Ila. “The tension between soft fabric and hard stone created a deliberate yet effortless statement,” says Elif. Quinten, meanwhile, opted for head-to-toe Bode.
Although the venue wasn’t the only surprise that evening. Their welcome party happened to fall on Elif’s birthday—which Elif at first assumed would just get lost in the chaos of things. But just as dinner ended, Quinten brought out a towering, multi-tiered cake. After she blew out the candles, their friend Jonny Rock began to DJ. Guests were then led to an extravagant dessert bar underneath a disco ball by Chef Laszlo Badet.
The next day, Quinten and Elif married in a two-part ceremony. “The first was a more intimate gathering of our bridal party and immediate family, which was held in the petite 17th-century chapel next to the château. Surrounded by our loved ones, Elif and I exchanged our personal vows,” explains Quinten. “Our decision to save our personal vows for our closest family and friends gave us the comfort to allow our emotions to flow.” Afterward, the couple and their wedding party made their way to the other end of the grounds, where all the guests sat underneath the shade of towering plane trees.
Elif wore a Vivienne Westwood corset dress. Yet the real statement of her bridal look? A 13-foot floral veil by Tatyana Kochnova Atelier, which Elif believed symbolized “the emotional depth of the moment—delicate, and purposeful,” she said. “Just before walking down the aisle I was hit by a strong wind which made the experience even more otherworldly.” The groom waited for her under an arrangement of flowers by Thierry Boutemy in a bespoke suit from the Neapolitan tailor Saint Gregory. “During our full ceremony, neither of us could get over how beautifully everything had come together,” Quinten says. “Before everyone walked down the aisle, our officiant asked all of the guests to put their phones away for the duration of the ceremony. Without the distraction of a phone, we felt a much stronger connection to everyone as we looked through the crowd.”
The reception was held on the grounds in front of the chateau, which the couple turned into an outdoor living room complete with 18th-century-style furniture. As the sun set, guests headed down a pathway lit with thousands of candles to a sunflower yellow tent. An ornate garden-party dinner awaited them.
Elif changed into a beaded top and silk skirt, made from vintage fabrics by the Ila atelier, for the occasion. She finished off her look with a pair of silver Manolo Blahnik heels. “In every outfit, my goal was clear: make a statement not through excess or volume, but through thoughtful, intentional simplicity,” she says.
After speeches from Quinten s parents, Elif’s sister, and Quinten’s brother, the dance floor got started and never stopped. It hit a fever pitch when Quinten himself took the stage to serenade Elif with a rendition of Barry White’s “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything”. Turns out, he had secretly been coordinating with the band for weeks.
As the night grew later, guests were led from the tent to a surprise after-party teepee tucked away in the back corner of the property. The dress code was “disco bohème”—and, in a remarkable flourish, Quinten and Elif had each guest’s outfit for the event collected for them and put in custom garment bags when they checked in at the chateau. When they arrived at the after-party, the bags were already waiting for them in changing booths tucked within the trees—along with a number of party accessories.
Inside the teepee was a hidden mezcal tasting bar, complete with a selection of bottles they shipped all the way to France from Oaxaca, as well as burgers and crepes. Elif’s childhood friend and DJ, O.bee, spun tracks until the sun came up.
Several months—and plenty of sleep—later, Elif and Quinten appreciate the intentionality and thought they put into each aspect of their wedding. But even more than that, they appreciate the unintentional moments. “Ultimately, the people around us mattered above everything else. Their presence made each detail meaningful and reminded us of what s truly important,” Elif says. “We still get goosebumps thinking about it and honestly can t wait to start planning our 10-year anniversary.”
Photo: Alex Bramall1/71Our welcome party look at Carrières de Lumiéres. Quinten wore head-to-toe Bode. I’m wearing a dress that my sister and I designed together through her brand, Ila.
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