The Bride Wore Her Great-Grandmother’s Diamond Necklace for Her Winter Wedding at the Musée Rodin in Paris

When it came to choosing their wedding location, Paris was the obvious choice. Lily had grown up in the city from age 13 until college, and always dreamed of getting married at the Musée Rodin. The couple loved the idea of a winter wedding, but there was a hiccup: The museum generally doesn’t allow events to take place on the lawn after October.

“To get our date in November, we had to apply for a special exemption from the City of Paris. We made our case, and they said yes. We ended up having the first-ever winter wedding on the Rodin’s lawn, which made the day feel even more surreal and meaningful,” Lily says.

They worked with planner Jean-Charles Vaneck of Sumptuous Events to make it all happen. To keep guests warm while preserving the museum setting, they opted for a transparent glass structure so that “guests could see the gardens, the sky, and the glow of the candlelight outside, so, even indoors, the night still felt connected to the Rodin,” the bride explains. “Since I’m a restaurant owner, we also wanted the night to feel like a warm, candlelit, and romanticized French bistro.” (Lily is the founder and CEO of Rooted Restaurants, a fast-casual restaurant chain in New York City, while Jack is the COO of Thrive Global, an AI-powered health company founded by Arianna Huffington.)

The wedding weekend kicked off with a welcome party at the Hôtel de Crillon, where the bride wore a Khaite cocktail dress. For the rehearsal dinner, she wore a high-neck lace Oscar de la Renta gown from the designer’s bridal collectsion. For the wedding day, she wore a semi-custom version of Monique Lhuillier’s Baby’s Breath gown.

“I knew from the beginning that I wanted to wear the very special necklace my great-grandmother purchased from Jack’s great-grandfather, so I chose my wedding dress based on whether it would complement the necklace. I couldn’t do a high neckline or heavy lace; the gown needed to feel grand, but also clean and simple enough to let the necklace shine,” Lily says.

To make sure the gown would complement the necklace and fit her vision, Lily made the dress her own. “I asked Monique’s team if they would be open to making a series of significant changes: switching the fabric and color, removing the printed pattern, reshaping the bodice, adjusting the slit, redesigning the sleeves, and eventually opening the back completely,” she says. “Their atelier said yes, and we moved forward with what became a semi-custom gown.”

The result was her dream dress. “In the end, the gown still carried the romantic, structured spirit of Monique Lhuillier’s design, but with a simplicity and uniqueness that felt completely and authentically mine,” Lily says. “I wore it until midnight, I wanted to savor every minute in it, knowing I’d never wear it again!”

For her “something blue” and “something borrowed,” she wore sapphire drop earrings from her mother. Her mother-in-law also lent her diamond bracelets. The groom wore a classic Tom Ford tuxedo with Tom Ford patent leather shoes.

The groom’s sister, Nina, officiated the ceremony. “She took the role to heart, and we are unbelievably grateful. It’s not every day you get a professional journalist and soon-to-be novelist officiate your wedding!” Lily says. During the ceremony, guests sipped Champagne and snacked on popcorn. The bride walked down the aisle with her father to her parents’ first dance song, “Rainbow Connection,” while the groom walked down the aisle to his parents’ processional song, “What a Wonderful World.”

“It’s rare that both of us have parents who have both been married for 30-plus years. So it felt full circle to walk down the aisle to their wedding songs as a way of honoring them and everything they’ve built,” Lily shares.

In terms of food, “Alain Ducasse did not disappoint,” Lily says. During the cocktail hour, guests were served cheeseburgers, parmesan risotto, cipollini onion bites, mini croque monsieurs, tuna crudo, and more. The main courses were steak au poivre, cauliflower steak, and branzino. The bar featured special cocktails, including one inspired by Lily’s family’s time living in France.

“For 10 years, the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz served a ‘Rivkin Martini’ that legendary bartender Colin Field named after my parents based on their drink order,” Lily shares. Fittingly, the “Rivkin Martini,” a Sorrento-lemon-infused vodka martini, shaken with ice and served in a frozen glass, was on the menu.

At the reception, the groom’s brother, comedian Matt Friend, gave a speech that ended with a surprise serenade to “Summer Wind,” the song the groom’s parents danced to at their wedding. After the impromptu performance, the newlyweds danced their first dance to Frank Sinatra’s “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby.”

For dessert, they had a build-your-own chocolate mousse bar as well as pies, macarons, cookies, and more. To end the night, guests shuffled into a speakeasy that the couple called “Les Amis,” which is French for “The Friends.” It was a nod to the wedding’s Parisian locale, and to “becoming Mr. and Mrs. Friend.”