Known for her over the top and opulent lifestyle, I’ve always wondered if Marie Antoinette were to be married in present day, what would her wedding look like? When Grace Pulver of Grace Pulver Photography and I first met to brainstorm ideas for this shoot, we were both very intriqued with what life must have been like at the Palace of Versailles just prior to the French Revolution. Our thought was to translate the excess of that time period into a modern wedding fit for the Queen of Versailles.

We chose the gardens at the Oliver Mansion, part of  The History Museum in South Bend, IN as the venue for the shoot.  The Oliver Mansion, built in 1897 and once home to the J.D. Oliver family,  reminded us  a bit of Le Petit Trianon, the chateau that was built on the grounds of Versailles as an escape for Marie Antoinette when palace life became overwhelming. The sunken gardens that adjoin the Oliver Mansion, although tiny in comparison to the gardens at Versailles, held similar aspects that we felt fit our vision.

We chose a to work in a pastel color palette of apricot, lavender, blush and butter yellow with gold metallic accents.  Pastels were popular during the rococo period of style, and we felt Marie Antoinette being the fashion maven she was would have absolutely chosen what was in vogue. We also incorporated French Blue because it has traditionally been used to represent France and always used in the heraldry of the French monarchy.

The floral was made up of garden roses, peony, spray roses, tulip, stock, sweet pea, ivy, viburnum, and ruscus. We wanted floral that felt ‘picked from the garden’ with a loose airy romantic feel. We also created a laurel (which is a motif repeated throughout) for the center of the grand table which held the new queen’s initials.

The gown included detail on the back of the skirt that was popular at the time. Poufs of fabric caught up with jeweled adornments cascaded down the back and a wide band encrusted with pearl and crystal around the top of the bodice added to the grandeur of the gown. To that we added a custom collar that featured epaulettes and thick cording that also included pearl and crystal accents. as a nod to France’s storied military history. The headpiece was also custom made as a hommage to an actual headpiece that Marie Antoinette commissioned and wore to celebrate a great French naval victory.

All of the stationary was done on 100% raw cotton paper with deckled edges which were brushed with gold. We wanted to use elements that possibly could have been used at Marie Antoinette’s  real wedding, but would be 100% relevant for use today. That included, wax seals, hand lettering, sprigs of rosemary and raw silk ribbon, along with the cotton paper. We did the menu card in a fan shape because fans were a must have accessory in the court of Marie Antoinette, used not only to cool oneself but to flirt as well.

The cakes were hand painted with pastel washes of color. The main cake incorporated macaroon, which of course, is a decadent French dessert. We felt Maire would have wanted each of her guests to have their own ‘petit gateau’ so little replicas of the main cake would be served to each with a side of macaroon. We used champagne coupes instead of the modern flutes because legend has it, the shape of the coupe was modeled on the chest of Marie Antoinette.  But in reality, the glass was designed in England over a century earlier, especially for sparkling wine and champagne in 1663.

The grand table was placed in the pergola that led from the mansion into the sunken gardens, above which, we hung chandeliers as a nod to the gallery of mirrors in Versailles. Tables were adorned with a peachy blush linen re-embroidered in gold micro sequin. Velvet napkins in french blue were accented with gold leaf rings and the menu cards (which doubled as fans) had ribbons of gold, blush and ivory that tumbled off of the table.  Cut crystal glassware, marbled blush charger plates and gold rimmed china completed the lush tablescape.

Without a stellar list of vendors who each brought their individual talents to the table, this shoot would not have been possible. I’m so grateful to each and every one of them for collaborating with me to produce this imagining of a wedding for a modern day Marie Antoinette.

Planning, design & styling: Celebrated Events

Photography: Grace Pulver Photography

Rentals: Aays Rentals

Venue: The History Museum

Floral: Poppies

Cake: C’est La Vie Cakes

Macaroons: Just Macs

Custom collar: South Bend Seamstress

Custom headpiece: Chef Bizarro Millinery

Papery: Banter & Charm

Hair: Salon Victoria

Makeup: Salon Victoria

Model: Claire Shippy

Linens: La Tavola

Chairs: Halls Rentals