Jeni Yamamoto has always been a planner. In fact, it was a little forward thinking that helped Jeni meet her future groom, François-Xavier Beckers, back in January 2020. “I was living in Manhattan, but was scheduled to move to Williamsburg (just four blocks away from François-Xavier) in February, so I had already set my Hinge location to Williamsburg,” Jeni explains.
“We matched on Hinge on a Sunday, and set up our first date for the next day at a bar right next to François-Xavier’s apartment.” After dating for a year, the pair began working on designing Jeni’s engagement ring together – but François-Xavier decided to surprise her by moving up their timeline and organising a special retreat while they were visiting his family in Provence. “We planned to do a quick weekend trip just the two of us to Mallorca – a place FX has always loved and I had never been to,” says Jeni.
“When we got into the rental car and drove to La Residencia, I knew something was up, because FX would never book such a nice hotel for no reason.” François-Xavier realised Jeni had caught on and sped up the timeline even further. “As soon as we unloaded our luggage, we went to the pool bar for lunch,” she shares.
“We sat down, he immediately pulled the ring out of his pocket, and asked me, ‘Will you be my wife?’” The couple decided to get married in Provence, as they spend a lot of time at François-Xavier’s family home in L’Isle-sur-la Sorgue. “We knew we wanted to get married close by, so we could host an event at home to make the wedding feel more personal and special,” explains Jeni. “We visited a few venue options and instantly fell in love with Domaine Des Andéols.
The property is beautiful and has such a unique mix of Provence charm and modern design.” To time the celebration when the region was in bloom with lavender, they booked a date of 24 June, 2023. “Venues and vendors were backed up with bookings from Covid, so instead of compromising on time of year, we selected our ideal weekend two years out,” the bride shares.
While Jeni admits planning an international wedding with a language barrier came with some stress, her planner Géraldine of luxury events agency Les Grands Moments helped smooth the process. “I was searching for planners and stumbled into her profile,” says Jeni. She loved her edgy aesthetic and slid into her DMs to recruit her to plan her grand outdoor celebration.
Both Jeni and François-Xavier put a lot of thought into choosing their attire for the big day. The groom wore a custom three-piece suit with a tailcoat designed by David Hart and fully committed to making the right choices when it came to selecting every fabric and finish. “Going to the fabric shops and old-school New York tailors was such a unique experience,” remembers Jeni.
“We did feel a bit crazed, because there were so many little details to decide. We were agonising over choosing between 50 shades of almost identical grey – constantly looking at swatches in direct sunlight, indirect sunlight, full shade, and during the night. It was worth it, though, because we loved the finished product.
” Meanwhile, Jeni went to Spina Bride in New York City to find her gown – and ended up buying the very first dress she tried on. “I was way too excited and emotional; as soon as I got home, I regretted my decision,” says the bride. “That dress was sparkly with a lot of tulle and an asymmetric neckline – it wasn’t very me.
I called Spina in a panic, and they allowed me to exchange the dress for another one by the same designer, Lihi Hod . I went back a few months later with a cooler head and picked a less embellished dress in a more streamlined silhouette that was much more my style. I also added a cape by Lihi Hod for the ceremony for a bit more drama.
” The dress also served as the basis for Jeni’s accessory choices. “My dress had a single pearl on the bodice, so I continued with the pearl theme,” she says. “For jewellery, I wanted to keep things simple.
The pearl earrings I ordered didn’t arrive in time, so I ended up running to Macy’s the day before our flight and grabbed a £23 pair from the fashion jewellery section. They ended up being perfect!” Jeni considers herself “a bit of a shoe fanatic”, and decided to step it up with her choice. “My dress had a slit that would make my shoes visible, so they needed to be fun,” she shares.
“I landed on pearl-encrusted Jimmy Choo platforms that were surprisingly comfortable.” As a final touch, Jeni added something borrowed and blue to her ensemble via “a beautiful sapphire cocktail ring gifted to me by my aunt who never had any daughters of her own.” When the wedding day arrived at Domaine Des Andéols, the ceremony took place against a beautiful grassy hill decorated with florals as French and Hawaiian music played to reflect the couple’s shared heritage.
Jeni says, “The ceremony itself was short because François-Xavier and I wanted to get to the good part – the partying!” Rather than having a traditional bridal party, the bride and groom had family and friends take special roles in the procession. “François-Xavier’s parents, his three brothers, and my brother walked out to “L’Encre De Tes Yeux” by Francis Cabrel. His uncle Rene served as our ring bearer, and my “maids of honour”, Noa and Ross, were also the flower boys,” says Jeni.
François-Xaxier then walked down the aisle to “For Me...
Formidable” by Charles Aznavour and Jeni followed to “River” by Leon Bridges with her mother, who wore a green and yellow Korean hanbok. Jeni’s best friend Brian officiated the ceremony, which the bride describes as “sweet, funny and personal.” Before saying “I do,” the couple recited their own vows.
“This was the most nerve-wracking part of the entire wedding,” says Jeni. “During the ceremony, FX was anxious and I was having an out-of-body experience. Neither of us love public speaking, so we were relieved when the vows were done and we could celebrate with our friends and family at cocktail hour!” The pair and their guests toasted with Champagne beneath a beautiful tree that serves as the centrepiece of the property, then retreated to the reception held among rows of palm trees.
“After dinner, we moved the party into the Domaine’s orangerie where we continued until 4 am,” notes the bride. The party didn’t stop until long after the wedding day was over. “François-Xavier and I didn’t want to have a traditional honeymoon so after about two hours of sleep, we headed to Saint-Tropez with 20 of our best friends for what we call our polymoon,” says Jeni.
“Since we had a destination wedding and our guests travelled all the way, we wanted to make the most out of everyone’s trip. We rented a house in Saint-Tropez and spent the next five days hanging by the pool, enjoying the beach clubs, shopping and eating. It was so nice to be able to spend more quality time with friends while being completely stress-free – I highly recommend a polymoon for everyone!”.
