This Fashion Bride Wore Danielle Frankel to Marry Her High School Sweetheart at a French Château

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Their love story began simply. Two high school kids fell in love and became each other's constant. They grew up together, supporting each other's dreams, celebrating each other's wins, and sharing all the little moments in between. As happens in any meaningful long-term relationship, Abbie Farrell, a sales manager at CD Network, came to know her boyfriend at the time, Max Howard, director of transactions and contract management at Masterworks, inside and out. She knew his daily patterns, his subtle expressions, his innermost beliefs, and even the surprise plans he thought he could keep hidden—or so she thought. Despite how attuned she was to his every move, a significant moment still caught her completely off guard: his proposal.

It happened on September 21, 2024, during one of their daily strolls around Gramercy Park in New York City. On multiple occasions before, Farrell had playfully hinted to Howard that they knew someone with a coveted key to the private park—subtly signaling that she hoped to step inside those gates. If he happened to drop to one knee there, she wouldn't be opposed. "Luckily, Max caught on," Farrell says. He managed to secure the key and surprise her with a proposal inside the Gramercy Park, everything she ever wanted. "It was a moment that was the perfect combination of being in the middle of New York City while still feeling completely private," Farrell says.

When it came time to plan their wedding, Farrell and Howard knew they wanted to celebrate outside the city. After considering multiple destinations, they chose Provence, France, specifically Château de Fontarèches, a 12th-century estate. "It felt like a natural choice," says Farrell, whose frequent work trips to Paris Fashion Week often doubled as getaways with Howard by her side. On one such trip following their engagement, the couple toured over 10 venues throughout the region. "The château was the very first venue we saw … and something about it stayed with us," she says. It's easy to see why. Character runs through every design detail, and most importantly, the château felt like an extension of their families. "The interiors reminded me of my mom, while the property reminded Max of his grandfather," Farrell explains.

On May 30, 2026, the couple gathered with 80 of their closest friends and family members to tie the knot. From the first to the last, each celebration over the weekend took place at a different location on the property, giving every event its own atmosphere and moment. This sense of individuality extended to Farrell's wedding wardrobe, which ranged from a custom One Of by Patricia Voto silver-gray dress inspired by Ralph Lauren's S/S 09 collection to a semi-custom Danielle Frankel high-neck lace gown with matching gloves. Continue reading to explore all the details of Farrell's stunning bridal looks and the couple's vision of creating a wedding that felt like an intimate garden party.

"We kicked off the weekend with our smallest event with 35 of our closest friends and family."

"We hosted cocktails in the courtyards with walls of jasmine blooming and incredible antique pots everywhere."

"For my first wedding-weekend look, I wore a vintage Lanvin Blanche 2013 strapless silk ivory bow-back dress that I found at Tab Vintage on a girls' trip to L.A. Though we had booked the appointment just for fun, when I saw the dress, I fell in love with it immediately. I knew it needed to be part of my wedding weekend. It ended up being perfect for the rehearsal dinner—simple, classic, and something I knew I would never get tired of. I paired it with an Attersee Brea Bag, Jimmy Choo Leo croc sandals, and my mom's jewelry."

"Max wore a light-blue blazer, which complemented his blue eyes. He paired it with Ralph Lauren linen pants and Gucci loafers."

WWW Weddings Tip: "[When it comes to] your looks, with your hair and makeup, your design selections, don't stray too far from who you are. It's easy to get caught up in the whole wedding of it all, but the best way to feel your best all weekend long is to stay true to yourself. If you are a girl who wears your hair only down, don't be afraid to do it the same way for every event as I did."

"[Cocktails were followed by] dinner in the ballroom at a long table with yellow accents—a nod to my mom's favorite color. We wanted the flowers to trail naturally along the table as though they had grown there."

"We used gold two-tone linen dinner napkins embroidered with each guest's name as their place card and added scallop shells to hold the butter, inspired by some of my favorite Parisian bistros. Wine bottles were left on the table to encourage a more family-style feeling."

"I knew I wanted to work with Patricia Voto of One Of at some point during the weekend, and the welcome party felt like the perfect opportunity. Since our guests were all wearing white and my own wardrobe is typically pretty neutral, I wanted something that would stand out without feeling disconnected from the overall weekend. I created a million mood boards of vintage Ralph Lauren dresses (specifically a halter dress from its S/S 09 collection, which I searched high and low for), and we used those as inspiration for a custom gown."

"[Voto and I] landed on a dusty silver-gray color. I wanted a halter neckline and an open back, and we added a shawl and racerback detail at the last minute, which ended up being some of my favorite details. I paired the gown with silver Prada metallic slingback pumps, a Bottega Veneta Intrecciato clutch, and my mom's vintage cuff. Max wore a custom plaid linen blazer with ivory linen pants that complemented the silver tones in my dress with Gucci loafers."

"Since it wasn't a seated dinner, we wanted the food to feel fun and easy, essentially grab-and-go or picnic style, while still feeling special. I became obsessed with incorporating food into the floral design, especially tomato plants. That quickly became the inspiration for the entire evening and gave us a red color palette for the florals and décor. The tables were layered with red-and-white striped linens, two-tone embroidered linen napkins, and incredible geranium-and-tomato arrangements. We even had tomato-shaped candlesticks with red candles. A jazz trio from Your Dream Band played throughout the night."

WWW Weddings Tip: "Find vendors that work with your personality. I basically hired every vendor off of vibe and do not regret it at all. Once I got off the calls [with] different photographers, videographers, florists, hairstylists, and makeup artists, I knew who I would want to mesh with during the weekend."

"At the last minute, we added red-and-white striped picnic blankets scattered across the hill so guests could sprawl out on the grass, relax, and enjoy the evening. It became one of my favorite details of the evening."

"My sister and four closest friends, who were all staying at the château, got ready with me in my bridal suite. It was exactly how I wanted it to feel: simple and relaxed."

"I knew I wanted our invitations to feel simple, elegant, and timeless. My personal style is pretty minimal, so I was never going to go too crazy with paper. I found Papier June and immediately fell in love with her work. We kept our entire suite white and understated with embossing throughout. The lace on my wedding dress was incredibly delicate with hand-painted details, so I always knew I wanted to find a way to incorporate it into our invitations. One of my favorite details was the handmade paper details card, which she created and embossed to mimic the lace of my Danielle Frankel wedding dress. We also incorporated shell details throughout the entire wedding, so the pearl wax seal on our envelopes felt like a subtle nod to a motif that would continue throughout the weekend."

"Trine Juel did my hair and makeup for the wedding day, as well as for the rehearsal and welcome party. When we first talked about my beauty look, I told her I wanted to feel natural and like myself, glowing but almost as if I wasn't wearing makeup. She did exactly that. She made me feel like myself but better and, more importantly, so at ease throughout the entire weekend.

"I've always worn my hair down, so I knew wedding weekend wasn't going to be the time to suddenly change that. We kept it simple for the first two events with a classic blowout, and for the wedding day, [we] added a little more volume and wave with larger curlers. I couldn't have been happier with how it turned out. I originally had visions of a whole look for getting ready, but by the end of wedding planning, I realized I really just wanted to feel comfortable and like myself (a common theme). I love Deiji Studios, and I saw their simple linen robe with a white tie a month before the wedding. It felt bridal without being overly bridal. It also fit the château perfectly and was something I knew I would actually wear again after the wedding."

"My 'bridal party' wore blue cotton striped pajamas that I found at one of my favorite stores in Paris, Merci, to get ready in."

"My closest friends coordinated their dresses to fit the gold and earth tones of the venue. My sister and maid of honor wore a look from Erdem's S/S 26 collection—one I had the opportunity to represent."

"My semi-custom Danielle Frankel dress was actually the third dress I tried on, and I instantly knew it was the one. The funny part was that it wasn't even one of the five dresses I had originally picked out to try. I had admired it on the website but hadn't included it in my appointment because I was concerned it was too casual. I saw it hanging in the room during the appointment and fell in love with the lace and cape detail.

"Most don't wear it as their actual wedding dress, but for another look, so we made a few changes. Once I put it on, the sample was massive, and the lining wasn't what I wanted. We found a smaller size without the lining, which I loved, making the lace feel super airy and light. I obviously couldn't do no lining, but the Danielle Frankel team was willing to work with my vision and had so much patience throughout the process. We completely reworked the interior, creating a nude, sheer lining that extended throughout the dress so there wasn't a stark line cutting off the delicate lace."

"The lace was my favorite part of the dress, and I wanted it to feel continuous and almost float against my skin. We then tailored the shift silhouette to fit my body completely, which was a bit of a challenge given the dress's original shape. We also adjusted the neckline to show a little more of my arms, added custom fingerless gloves, and created a custom train for a little extra drama. At the very end, we even added hand-painted flowers to the lace."

"Max knew from the start that he wanted to keep his wedding-day look as classic as possible, so he wore a Ralph Lauren tuxedo. In true Max fashion, he purchased it exactly two weeks before we left for France. After more than a year and a half of planning a destination wedding in France and multiple custom looks for myself, somehow his tuxedo was the one detail that nearly got away from me. Thankfully, he pulled it off perfectly, picking it up the day before our flight…"

WWW Weddings Tip: "Working in fashion, I spent a lot of time (I mean a lot of time—over a year and a half) working on my wedding wardrobe. The groom was something I struggled with, and let's just say I let go of it. Make sure your groom stays on top of it and buys his tuxedo well before your wedding day. Make a date out of it so he can also get excited about how he feels on the big day!"

"I kept it very simple with accessories, wearing my mom's diamond studs for earrings and simple white satin Manolo Blahniks I purchased during one of our Paris trips at Le Bon Marché."

The couple poses for photos.

"My mom passed away in 2017 and wasn't able to be there, so I wanted to find small, meaningful ways to have her with me throughout the day. She was a flight attendant, and I wore her wings pinned to my bouquet."

WWW Weddings Tip: "Don't feel forced into following a lot of the wedding to-dos. We slept in the same bed the night before, as we already live together, and woke up early before anyone else to have coffee together and a personal moment to ourselves before the day began."

"Because our wedding was small and intimate, we wanted the ceremony to be brief and simple but still feel personal."

"We kept the ceremony design intentionally understated. I wanted the florals to feel as though they had grown naturally from the gardens of the château and belonged there, rather than feeling overly arranged or decorative. We kept everything soft and organic, which also complemented the delicate lace of my dress."

"Our recessional was a string quartet's version of 'Blackbird,' one of my mom's favorite songs, which was another quiet nod to her. Those details were subtle, but they made her presence feel very much a part of the ceremony and the day."

"My half brother officiated, which was incredibly meaningful to both of us. He is someone we both have a close relationship with and deeply admire, so having him marry us made the ceremony feel even more special."

Farrell and Howard say "I do."

The couple leaves the ceremony to head to the reception.

"After cocktail hour on the terrace, our guests made their way down the hill to dinner. We had originally planned for one long table in another area of the property, but when we arrived, we realized the space wasn't quite what we had envisioned. We made a last-minute pivot to a U-shaped table on a new terrace overlooking the property and facing back toward the château, and we couldn't have been happier with how it turned out. It felt intimate and intentional, with everyone close together."

"For the tables specifically, I wanted the florals to feel almost weightless—as though vines and flowers had grown up and floated just above the table rather than sitting in traditional arrangements—with touches of lavender to complement lavender season in the region. I also wanted to incorporate elements that I love and associate with France, particularly antique lace and vintage silver. We collected pieces from markets throughout France and incorporated details inspired by some of our favorite restaurants in Paris, including shell dishes and silver accents, which made the tables feel personal without feeling overly designed."

"Some of our favorite moments of the evening were simply watching our guests mingle. Max's best man, my maid of honor, my father, and Max all gave speeches, which added a personal touch to our seated dinner."

WWW Weddings Tip: "Don't be afraid of plan B. We originally planned our wedding dinner for a different location, but it wasn't ready and didn't make much sense when we arrived. We changed our table to be in a different location and shape (from a long table to a U), and I couldn't imagine it any other way. The shape was amazing for our size and on the patio and [made for] some of my favorite photos. We also were able to watch our guests walk up and down the hill and see them all waiting at the bottom of the hill, and these are definitely some of my favorite moments."

"Before heading into the courtyard for dancing, we cut our cake. A large fruit tart felt perfectly on theme."

"Our first dance was to John Mayer's version of 'XO' because Max and I went to a John Mayer concert on one of our first dates more than 13 years ago."

"Then we had the classic father-daughter and mother-son dances."

"The rest of the night was filled with lots of dancing and martinis in a stunning stone courtyard nestled in the center of the château. Eventually, the party moved into the château's cave for a late-night DJ set and after-party (some of my favorite moments from the entire weekend)."

"I was originally set on not having a second look. I had already spent so much time on my other looks and my wedding dress, which had multiple interchangeable elements that allowed it to evolve throughout the night. However, two weeks before I left for France, Sara Nicole Vintage, who I had previously worked with for my bridal shower, was hosting a trunk show in New York, so I figured I would look one last time.

"I told Sara I wasn't planning to change and would only splurge if I found something I absolutely loved for the after-party. I told her about the wedding, and she handed me a dress before I even told her what I was looking for. It was a vintage Nina Ricci resort 2008 gown in two-tone silver-and-beige satin with the tiniest feathers at the neckline. It was essentially the exact dress I had been searching for. It felt like she had somehow read my mind. The feathers needed a little TLC, but otherwise, it was perfect. Needless to say, that became my second look."

Photographer: Sydney Marie Co.
Videographer: Auburn Hour Films
Hair and Makeup Artist: Trine Juel
Venue: Château de Fontarèches
Florist: Flavia Studio
Stationery Designer: Papier June
Caterer: Helen Traiteur
Entertainment: Your Dream Band
Wedding Planner: Alexandra Howard
Furniture Rentals: Options and D&X Events

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