This Artist Couple Wore Custom Ann Demeulemeester and Rick Owens to Their Wedding at a Gothic Paris Church

For her wedding day attire, Ingvild was drawn to the “wistful romanticism” of Ann Demeulemeester. “The dress itself, designed by Stefano Gallici with the help of his team—Amelia, Andrea, Gabriele, Matteo, and many others—was the most beautiful dress I could have imagined,” says Ingvild of the custom design. “Their kindness, elegance, and dedication made the experience of creating the dress from scratch—drawings, iterations, choices of fabric, pattern making, and retouching—feel deeply aligned with the realization of our engagement.” The gown featured a laced-up back, a gauze vest with raw-metal details, and a five-meter-long train made from two types of silk. Ingvild traveled to Milan three times for her fittings. “The last fitting was deeply emotional,” says the bride. “I stood in the atelier, watching myself in the mirror wearing this delicate, magical garment they had shaped directly on my body. I felt as if Stefano was sharing this intensely intimate moment with me, acting almost like a guardian…preparing me to present myself as Ingvild.” Stefano also helped the bride get ready with her wedding party on her wedding day, and surprised her with a tiara he crafted for her to wear to the ceremony. “The room was in complete chaos, but everything came together at the last possible moment—exactly as it was meant to be.”

To accompany her on the wedding day, Ingvild had custom dresses by Noa Pearce made for her bridesmaids in pearl white, while the groomsmen wore a mix of Rick Owens tailoring, Scottish wedding attire, and Agnes B. Ahead of the wedding, both Ingvild and Connor each held bachelor and bachelorette events for their respective wedding parties. “Mine was wonderfully organized by my bridesmaid, Georgia Polks,” says Ingvild. “Ten of my dearest friends spent the weekend in the countryside, dressed in white and wandering in the forest—very Virgin Suicides—collectsing wild flowers, paintings on tiny canvas, and drinking white wine. Connor’s one sounded hectic. His friends rented a van and drove him from party to party, finally ending up by a lake outside of Paris, where they water-skied with no sleep at all.”

The day before the wedding, the couple was legally married in a small ceremony in Blaru with close family members and friends. The bride and groom—along with their witnesses—had to run in order to catch their train from Paris. “We had all stayed out a little too late the night before,” Ingvild recalls. “I wore my Norwegian grandmother’s wedding dress, and when we stepped out of the church, my sisters threw rose petals they had collectsed in the garden moments earlier. We walked 20 minutes back from the town hall to the countryside house, cars beeping as they passed, congratulating us.”

The wedding day arrived, and the guests gathered at Église Saint-Eustache. “It meant a great deal to be married by Père Gérard Bénéteau, as he had also baptized me,” shares Ingvild. “He was moved as well, as it was the first time he celebrated the wedding of someone he had baptized.” Père François Baumann, the bride’s father’s cousin and a priest in Taiwan, co-officiated the ceremony. The bride adds, “He is completely bilingual, so we had a mix of French and English throughout, which made everyone happy!”

The ceremony began with Zumi Rosow of The Black Lips singing “Into My Arms” by Nick Cave, accompanied by the church’s grand organ. The procession went smoothly until the arrival of the ring bearer, sprinting at full speed. “We forgot to warn him to deliver the rings before my entrance,” laughs Ingvild. Reflecting on the ceremony, Connor says, “Personally, I would have been incredibly nervous if the whole thing wasn’t so swift and confounding. Everything settled as soon as Ingvild entered. It was pure elation after that.” The bride also recalls telling her father she was a bit stressed before heading down the aisle. “I know he was too, but he reassuringly told me, ‘Don’t be, now it’s the time for you to enjoy,’” she says. “When I saw Connor, I felt a deep, warm joy. I couldn’t stop smiling.”

After the ceremony, the newlyweds and their guests enjoyed a cocktail hour in a church wing, with plenty of spontaneous fun. “Ingvild grappled with a white rabbit that was handed to her by a passing family, a completely impromptu moment,” says Connor. “We sang and danced with Sacha Rudy playing piano—again, something that was unplanned but where everyone felt compelled to join and enjoy.” The bride and groom then hopped into a friend’s grandfather’s vintage Peugeot to head to the reception in Blaru. “We drank Champagne on the way, passing by the Arc de Triomphe and feeling finally free and relaxed,” shares Connor. “Francis Delacroix took pictures of us throughout the trip, standing up on the front seat of the cabriolet while we were driving at 100 kilometers per hour on the highway.”

Before the reception began, Ingvild changed into another Ann Demeulemeester piece, with a bohemian feel, lent by the brand. “The fit was more relaxed than the five-meter-long-train wedding dress,” says the bride. “We had a few hours before the guests arrived and took the opportunity to take a few pictures in the fields outside with Joanna Brown, our wedding photographer. It meant a lot that she accepted working for us, as I had met her five years ago while making the campaign for a wedding-dress brand that she was shooting.”

Once guests arrived, they spent time mingling, drinking, and eating hors d’oeuvres around the property. “We’d planted and arranged loads of delphiniums, lupin, and lavender, made large silk banners, and forged secret grottos in the garden for people to find,” says Connor. “The intention was a Hockney or Beaton garden party.” Their 280 guests later moved to one long table for a dinner of asparagus with orange zest and bottarga, fire-roasted duck, and seasonal vegetables. Speeches from the couple’s families and friends and the newlyweds themselves were delivered throughout the evening.

“As the sun retreated, the bands began to play,” says the groom, including performances by Crush, featuring Zumi Rosow and Cole Alexander of The Black Lips, and Escape-ism, led by Ian Svenonius and Sandi Denton. Later in the night, it began to drizzle. “In French, we say ‘mariage pluvieux, mariage heureux’—rainy marriage, happy marriage,” says Connor. “A huge key lime pie was brought out, followed by a dip in the pool for the brave.” The night continued inside an old farmhouse until the early morning as DJs Sheetnoise, The Bad Plug, and Fujimine played.

When asked how they feel about their wedding now, the couple says they are still reveling in it all. “It really was the best day of our lives, made possible by the generous efforts of our friends and family.”