This French couple had always dreamt of visiting the illustrious New York City. When the time came to pick a wedding destination, due to a variety of factors, an elopement in the city of lights seemed like an obvious choice. The couple was able to fulfill their fairytale fantasy and during their wedding day they toured the city in style. If there’s anything more romantic than an elopement, it’s one with a fairytale beginning. Thank you to photographer Christina Kiffney Photography for capturing this perfect day and sharing it with us. The bride herself shares their love story below:
When I was a little girl, I dreamt of meeting a charming Prince, both a gentle prince and a knight. When I met Cyril 10 years ago, I suddenly felt I had met not only a Prince, but my Prince, and he felt exactly the same way- I was his Princess.
In 2009, we were visiting London, when Cyril popped the question on a romantic jazz cruise. Indeed, as the Prince he is, he knew that I loved jazz music and found the perfect place to propose marriage. We both share the same life philosophy, we love spending times with our friends, we love the same activities, and above all, we enjoy all the little pleasures that life offers us everyday. One of our favorite hobbies is traveling, so in 2009, we had dreams of visiting New York City.
At this same time, doctors diagnosed me with an orphan illness and we were told that I would not walk properly again. I said “we” because, on that day my Prince showed all his strength and became my Knight. Cyril told me: “This is an orphan illness. The doctors are searching for it, so that means that nobody knows about it, so maybe they are wrong! I’m sure they are wrong. We will face it together. I love you, and this is forever.” From that moment, we never say “I love you” without saying “forever.” From that moment, I fought for me, for us, and above all, for him.
As years passed, my health improved. Through it all, we never gave up, even when I had to use a wheelchair, even when my body was hurting badly, even when I got sick from the medicine and saying, “stop” would have been easier. I always fought, we fought, and our strength was that we did it together.
In January 2013, the doctors told me I had reached my best state of recovery; they hadn’t thought I would walk again, but I was. Since then, we have continued to fight, and even though I’m limping a little and probably always will, I walk almost like I once did. To us, we were living a fairy tale, and as a Princess, I wanted to be on my two feet for my Prince on our wedding day, so we decided to wait until I felt better: What are a few years of waiting in a lifetime of happiness?
When I finally felt better, we decided to think again about our wedding plans, but had to think differently because of health constraints. This is when we decided to ask our friend Cielle from Story Tellers Events if she could organize it. In all fairy tales there is always a fairy Godmother, and Cielle became ours. Cielle and her team organized everything quickly to make us live our dream.
On September 5th we became husband and wife in the city we dreamt of coming to for so many years. The dream I had since I was a young girl became true and was immortalized by the gifted and talented Christina Kiffney. More than ever, I knew I married not only my Prince but my Knight, and since then we have lived happily ever, and ever after…
Photography: Christina Kiffney Photography // Tuxedo and Mens Attire: 26 Down Street // Dress Designer: DS Bridal Dresses // Shoes: Kate Spade // Floral Designer: Ky Kampfeld – Bridal Bouquets by Ky // Other Location: Park Lane New York // Etsy Designer: Red Ostrich // Makeup Artist: SB Beauty // Jewelry: Something Jeweled // Event Planner: Storytellers Events