It was the wonky wedding cake that got me. Chloë Sevigny’s earl grey flavoured, ricotta-layered delight, decorated with fresh strawberries, homemade passionfruit curd and brown butter ginger buttercream, looked a little off, leaning ever so slightly to one side.
It gave me happy flashbacks to my own wedding cake that also lent precariously, having collapsed on transportation to the venue earlier that day (the restaurant’s pastry chef came to the rescue, doing what she could and creating our own slightly lopsided 3-tiered masterpiece).
Sevigny’s cake was deliberately wonky - created by the trendy Brooklyn baker Aimee France, known for her “wacky, whimsical cakes” - but that spirit of imperfection and personality was seen throughout her and husband Siniša Mačković’s nuptials that went viral last week.
Every single detail screamed “I’m the coolest girl in the world”: the silver cups of cigarettes for guests, her five calla lilies as a bouquet, the ice swan sculpture, the flower petal shower (and yeah her couture Jean Paul Gaultier gown, followed by numerous outfit changes for the reception). It was held in a small charming chapel in uptown Connecticut, and guests included Natasha Lyonne, Kim Gordon, director Jim Jarmusch, former Opening Ceremony and Kenzo designers Humberto Leon and Carol Lim.
It was a similar low-key but fun vibe seen at the recent Hawaii wedding of Australian magazine and fashion editor Laura Brown, who seems like she’d be a very good time. Sure it was all very fashionable (her dusty pink gown - with pockets! - was custom Valentino, and she had like a zillion celebrities as guests), but her messy hair was windswept, the dance floor was packed, and said celebrities were photographed in situ and un-posed - in fact very little of it was posed, including the table settings and other small details that usually form ‘grammable moments’ .
I am sure that both of these were incredibly expensive, but they’re high profile examples of the best kind of wedding: they showcase the personality of the couple in minute detail, and they’re planned for those who were there to have an absolute blast, not for the photos or social media content.
They manage to straddle that delicate line of incorporating and respecting tradition while never feeling stuffy (I know everyone says this, but my wedding was outrageously good and I think we did this, too).
They’re also the antithesis of that other much-photographed Italian circus this weekend, Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s wedding sponsored by problematic fashion house on a perpetual PR rebrand, Dolce & Gabbana.
I love a wedding. I adore the sense of occasion, and overt display of love. I love that it’s all about family. I’ll always be found on a wedding dance floor alongside work colleagues and uncles. And I love the forced, sometimes awkward, interactions between all the aspects of your life that are usually separate (my dad nailed this in his speech when he joked about our industry friends in attendance: “are there any ugly fashion people?”). They are the definition of thoughtful, joyful fun.
It’s all those personal, sweet, soulful, surprising, hedonistic, charming details that we want to celebrate with our new regular feature, Ensemble Weddings, set to launch soon.
We’ve debated a lot about whether we wanted to go there - are we just playing into the wedding industrial complex? Well, yes, a little. Everyone else already features weddings, what can we offer that’s new?
We aren’t really interested in perfect weddings, and we know that the concept of a wedding day is wonderfully diverse. We want to feature those that are small, huge, young, old, culturally driven or elopements, with messy hair and wonky cakes.
If you think your wedding fits the bill, with an Ensemble vibe (or you’ve attended a celebration worth sharing), we’d love to hear about it - get in touch with us here.
