The Bride Wore a Cathedral-Length Veil to Marry at the Groom’s Family Basilica in Paris

When the couple began planning, Dahye was in her master’s program, and Sean was working full-time, so they didn’t have much free time. “I think the hardest part was getting the ball rolling,” Sean remembers. “The good thing was that we had a full year and a half to plan following our civil union in New York City, so not having the stress of time pressure certainly helped a lot.”

They enlisted Marie Bitton from Maiden Agency as their planner, and the first thing they did was lock down a date with the main venue, Le Pavillon Dauphine. It checked off all the boxes: grand and historical architecture, a vast outdoor space, and just far enough from residential areas so that there was no risk of noise complaints. “My vision for the wedding was timeless, classic and undoubtedly Parisian,” Dahye says. “I am a big vision-board nerd, so I spent many a weekend finding images that show the vibe and inspiration for each event. Once I was happy with this vision board—which was a PowerPoint deck of 100-plus slides—I shared it with Marie, and she did her magic to scout the right vendors and designers from there.”

“I was in charge of the food and wine,” Sean jokes.

The rehearsal dinner was held at La Fontaine Gaillon. “It wasn’t our first pick, but the original restaurant we booked went bankrupt a few weeks before the date!” Dahye says. “Marie and Louise from Maiden Agency jumped on it right away to find a new venue for us, and in the end, we were happier with how it ended up. This corner of the 2ème arrondissement literally looked like a movie set, and having a cozy terrace made it perfect to receive guests for a welcome drink and to float in and out during dinner for a smoke or fresh air.”

For this kickoff event, Dahye wore a Victoria Beckham dress. “This look was a perfect marriage of classic lines and unexpected details,” the bride says. “I loved that it was a timeless satin dress that clinged to the body and also had the modern touch of criss-crossed black straps and a train that went down to the floor.” Her blazer was by the Korean brand Kimhekim. “I’ve been following it for many years,” she says. “It was a classic blazer, [but] with feminine ruching and pearl details in the front.”

The welcome brunch was the next day at the hotel Le 5 Particulier. “This hidden gem is tucked in Neuilly, a charming neighborhood right on the outskirts of Paris,” Dahye explains. “It has a private garden area that is lush and makes you feel like you are completely outside the city centre. It was forecasted to rain all day, but luckily the sky cleared up just in time.” There was a game of “Find the Guest” bingso, with Paris-themed prizes, a profiteroles cart, and a buffet of viennoiseries. “The Bingo game was a great way to break the ice and get different groups to mingle!” Dahye says.

The wedding ceremony was on Saturday at the Basilique Sainte-Clotilde. “Dahye and I were both raised Catholic, so we knew we wanted to hold a mass ceremony,” Sean explains. “The Basilique Sainte-Clotilde is a church that is in the arrondissement where my family lives and where we’ve had important occasions in the past.” After meeting with Father Marc Lambret, the parish priest, he agreed to officiate their wedding—and coincidentally, it ended up being his final mass before he retired. “The mass was one of my favorite parts of our wedding weekend,” Dahye remembers. “I could feel everyone’s love on us and was overwhelmed with emotions when I walked down the aisle with my dad, seeing all the faces of those who raised me and shaped me into who I am today.”

The bride wore a dress by Andrew Kwon to walk down the aisle. She met the designer by chance at a bridal industry networking event, and they immediately clicked through their shared Korean heritage. His team invited her to their bridal show a few weeks later, and there, Dahye fell in love with a strapless ballgown in a heavy satin. “I went to try it a few days later, but it wasn’t love at first sight,” Dahye admits. “By this point, I had gone to over 10 bridal salons in Manhattan, and still had not found ‘the one.’ I was losing hope and all the white dresses were starting to blend into each other in my memory, but I was determined not to compromise on anything less than what felt right in my gut.”

A few days later, she was scrolling through Andrew’s past bridal collectsions and came upon a majestic taffeta cape and asked if she could come back in to try it on with the ballgown. “They only had the sample piece in black during the visit, but the team rendered it to what it would look like in white,” Dahye explains. “I took a leap of faith and went for it.” Andrew’s team sampled dozens of white taffeta to find the perfect shade match to the dress, and countless hours were spent on the structure and sewing. It was classic and timeless, but also had drama thanks to the cathedral length veil and crinkled taffeta cape, which made it unlike anything Dahye had seen in the market.

“[During the ceremony,] I genuinely felt like I was on cloud nine,” Dahye reflects. “Walking down the aisle with my dad, seeing all the smiling faces of those I love most and those who have raised me was an indescribable feeling. Although Sean and I already had our civil union a year and a half earlier, the symbolism of exchanging vows in front of all our family and friends made our union feel even stronger. And walking out to the petal toss was a dreamlike moment of bliss!”

After family portraits in front of the basilica, the newlyweds rode off in their limousine to head to the reception at Pavillon Dauphine. There, they had about 15 minutes of alone time to soak it all in. “Walking into the venue, my jaw dropped at how every single detail was executed perfectly by Marie, her business partner Louise, and their team,” Dahyne says. “We were greeted by a string quartet, a much-needed glass of champagne, and by our smiling guests. I felt like I could finally let loose a bit and enjoy the present as most of the ‘important’ moments and photos were complete.”

After the welcome cocktail in the garden, guests were directed to find their seats in the mirrored ballrooms, where candle-lit banquet tables set the mood. Dinner began with the bride’s parents giving a speech, followed by the groom’s mother, and then Sean’s brothers gave a light-hearted but meaningful speech during the dessert. “Dahye’s niece, Zia, participated by holding up audience cue cards which was a crowd favorite,” Sean remembers.

In the lead-up to their first dance, the couple took lessons for six months to prepare for the big moment. “We were both really dedicated to learning this new skill together,” Dahye says. “I am so thankful to Sean for doing something completely out of his comfort zone for me. Honestly, I loved our dance classes as a fun date night activity.”

After dinner and the reception, the after-party continued late into the night. “It went until the venue had to turn the lights on as we weren’t taking the hint,” Dahye jokes. “We were so happy to see everyone have a genuinely great time, feel comfortable being themselves, and create lifelong memories together. We’re grateful for everything—but most importantly that all of our guests made it safely to Paris from all corners of the world and flew back home with full hearts.”