The Bride Carried a Bouquet of Sunflowers for Her Wedding at Her Family Home in Provence
“I like to think Lorenzo and I were somehow predestined to end up together,” says Louise Andrier, who wed Lorenzo de Blegiers in Provence this past July. “Lorenzo and I first met when I was still in my mother’s belly back in 1998,” she continues, before reminiscing on the many gatherings to follow, including family trips to Corsica (their parents were longtime friends) where the children would be photographed beneath the same church every year, and memories of being in the same middle school theater play. “And, my parents often say that my dad fell for my mum back in 1997 when she wore an amazing dress from Lorenzo’s parents’ ’90s brand, Capucine Puerari.” (A strong sense of fashion runs in both sides of the family.)
It was also in Corsica where the couple, now in their late 20s, got together officially. They had returned for the wedding of Lorenzo’s cousin, Alma, although Louise had almost missed the wedding entirely, citing health problems and a breakup with her then-boyfriend. After “a little birdie” rearranged place cards so that Lorenzo was sat next to Louise at Alma’s reception dinner, the two, who had always held crushes for the other, started their relationship. “Little did I know I would be married to him two years after that. My mum, however, sitting next to Lorenzo’s father a few tables from there, says she had a vision.”
It was on another family holiday, cruising from Calabria to Puglia, that they would get engaged. Though Lorenzo had already picked out a ring and made plans to propose beside a Roman chapel near her house in Provence, he couldn’t wait. On the final day of vacation, before heading back to their home in Paris, where they now both live, the couple was swimming in the Ionian Sea when Lorenzo popped the question. “And just like that, we were engaged. I remember being so full of happiness and emotion; it made things very difficult for me to swim back to the boat!” says Louise. “It was truly one of the best days of my life. We celebrated back in Paris the same night, with all restaurants closed and the only possibility to order McDonalds at 3 a.m. in the morning. Possibly the best burger of our lives.”
On the weekend of July 5, 2024, they would tie the knot at Louise’s parents’ home in Mazan. The bride served as her own wedding planner, having familiarized herself with the process during her sister’s wedding on the property a few years prior. (“Even on the wedding day, I would welcome all the vendors and keep track of time and planning,” she recalls. “It may sound awkward to people, but it actually made me enjoy every bit of the way.”)
The celebrations began with a civil court ceremony in the town of Beaumes on Friday. “I was dreaming of an Alaïa dress,” says Louise, who wore a two-piece crop top and skirt set from Alaïa with a Bernadette veil and Prada shoes. “Lorenzo’s family had actually welcomed Azzedine in France years ago—and Lorenzo’s grandmother and the famous designer had a lifelong friendship,” she adds.
For the wedding day on Saturday—a religious ceremony in the Cathedral of Carpentras followed by a reception at the family estate in Mazan—the bride wore Rabih Kayrouz following the advice of her mom, who had encountered the French-Lebanese designer through Marie-Helene de Taillac. “He was the only designer I ever tried for my wedding. I remember trying on some muslin styles and my mother saying, ‘This is really not you; try this instead.’ Mothers always know what’s best for you!” Louise’s mother was also responsible for the pièce de résistance of her wedding day look, a vibrant bouquet of sunflowers. “I was a bit scared at first when she suggested the idea, but it was the most special piece and inspired the tables for dinner,” Louise adds.
Her Rabih Kayrouz gown was a beautifully simple sleeveless dress with a flowing skirt in silk taffeta. She accessorized with a muslin cape, which “Rabih enthusiastically suggested be completed with a hood to bring this modern look and feel”; her antique engagement ring, which was sourced from Charlotte Sayers; diamond stud earrings borrowed from her mother; three bracelets in gold and diamond from Pennisi; a cross of pearls and diamonds her parents had given her after her Catholic confirmation; and a sapphire sunflower ring custom made by Marie-Helene de Taillac—a wedding gift from her parents. Sunflowers become a symbol of their union.
Getting dressed at her parents’ home, Louise had all the calm of a bride in her own element, leaving her bedroom door open for friends and family to drop by. For beauty, she opted for a sleek bun as a nod to her ballet years and light makeup. “Funny fact: I never saw myself as a bride that day as I never looked at myself in the mirror with my hair, make up, and dress!” Louise adds, “I had full confidence in everyone’s work and love for me to make things look the best.” As for the groom, he had a suit custom-made by Lorenzo Cifonelli. “This was a very special experience for me as Cifonelli was my grandfather’s tailor,” he says.
Louise was driven to the church by her father, and was able to enjoy a quiet moment with him before she entered the cathedral. “I walked down the aisle, squeezed his hand, and felt I was on a transcendental journey, and throughout the ceremony, this feeling didn’t leave me but grew. I was very carried by the religious choir and our soloist’s voice,” she says. Both Louise and Lorenzo recall being moved to tears. “I cried almost the whole time, especially when walking to a small chapel for the Virgin Mary to leave her my bouquet.”
Stepping out of the church as husband and wife, the couple was met with a burst of butterfly-shaped confetti and then they drove to the house in Mazan in an old Carabinieri car. “We were off with the police sirens in the most playful and joyful way,” she says.
The reception took place on the grounds of the Mazan property in an olive grove. When the weather forecast cited rain, the couple opted to erect a tent but they took special care to make sure it was tall enough to house the olive trees they loved so much. Louise had even hand-drawn the olive trees that featured in the couple’s invitations. She would also contribute watercolor renderings of sunflowers to the decor; sunflowers burst on the tables both real and illustrated, adding a punch of deep yellow to the all-white tent, which was dressed in white linens, blonde-wood chairs and wicker vases containing even more sunflowers.
