Look at Me, I Have Something to Ask You: Léanne & Louis's Wedding at a Burgundy Abbey
- Author: Natali Grace Levine
- Wedding date: 07/18/2026
- City: Paris
Love Story
Léanne had recently returned to Paris after years in the United States when she and Louis first met in a small café in Montmartre. Neither was looking for anything that day, but the conversation would not end. Hours passed and laughter came easily. By the time they said goodbye, it felt less like meeting a stranger and more like reconnecting with someone she’d always known. “Louis invited me to what I thought was a ‘cheese night,’ but I had completely misunderstood; it was actually a chess night!” Léanne says, still laughing at the mix-up years later. They spent that first proper evening bent over a chessboard, trading moves and jokes equally, until between checkmate and the last glass of wine, they shared their first kiss.
That easy, instant connection carried them through years together to a hiking trail in Japan that Louis chose with unusual determination despite knowing hiking was not Léanne’s favorite activity. She complained the entire way up, just as he expected. Then the trail opened onto a clearing filled with roughly 150 deer beneath cherry blossoms in full bloom. Louis handed her a letter he wrote six months earlier, a slow, poetic unraveling of everything he felt for her. As she read deeper without piecing it together, the final line gave it away: “Look at me, I have something to ask you.” She looked up to find him already on one knee.
About Your Wedding
On July 18, 2026, Léanne Ansar and Louis Terme gathered about 150 guests at the Abbey of Reigny, a centuries-old estate in the Burgundy countryside, for a wedding a year in the making. The couple built the day around one idea: it should feel poetic, timeless, and unmistakably personal. Working closely with VIPR Agency, they honored both Léanne's American roots and Louis's French heritage equally rather than favoring one. Every choice, from décor to food, was meant to feel authentic rather than trend-driven, letting the abbey's Gothic architecture and quiet grounds do most of the emotional work.
That instinct extended to the guest experience. American guests received a genuine introduction to French heritage - the wine, regional cooking, and setting - while smaller, deliberate nods to New York and the couple's life in the United States were woven into the celebration throughout the day, all thoughtfully orchestrated by VIPR Agency. The wedding was never meant to just look beautiful in photographs; it was built to feel, in Léanne's words, like a true reflection of who they are as a couple.
Morning Details
The couple got ready inside the abbey, moving through its historic rooms as morning light spilled across centuries-old stonework. “The architecture, natural light, and timeless atmosphere created an elegant backdrop that perfectly reflected the aesthetic of our wedding,” Léanne says. It’s easy to see why the location shaped much of what followed. There was little need to dress up a room that already had quiet grandeur. The morning unfolded slowly and without rush, a pace only a venue steeped in history can encourage.
Bride Getting Ready
Léanne’s dress came from Justin Alexander, chosen with one clear intention guiding every decision. “I knew I wanted something timeless, something that would still feel elegant years from now rather than follow a passing trend,” she says. On the advice of her wedding planner, Solenne Vervisch of VIPR Agency, she waited to choose the dress until after the venue was locked in. Once the abbey’s Gothic architecture and gardens were settled, the aesthetic of the day followed naturally. This guided her toward a fitted mermaid silhouette finished with a five-meter veil and tulle added along the sides for extra volume and movement.
She didn’t stop at one dress. For the outdoor concert and first dance, she changed into an all-lace gown that carried the same romantic thread through the evening. It was customized by her aunt with a plunging V-neckline for a more modern, feminine edge. Later, for the speakeasy-inspired portion of the reception, she switched again into a shorter Montsand dress built specifically for dancing. It was playful and comfortable, paired with a lace side veil that echoed her original ceremony veil and tied all three looks together. Manolo Blahnik shoes and Jennifer Behr jewelry carried through every look, giving the day a sense of continuity even as the silhouettes shifted from formal to celebratory.
Groom Getting Ready
Louis got ready inside the abbey as well, surrounded by his groomsmen in another of the estate’s historic rooms. The same natural light and centuries-old backdrop suited the groom’s preparations as well as Léanne’s. He wore a custom tuxedo from Rives Paris, with his groomsmen dressed in Suitsupply - a polished, understated counterpart to the romantic layers Léanne wore throughout the day. The mood stayed relaxed rather than nervous, closer to old friends killing time together than the tense countdown grooms often describe, with Louis’s closest friends doubling as groomsmen. By the time he was fully dressed, a quiet undercurrent of anticipation ran through the room - the same energy that carried him through a cherry blossom hike in Japan months earlier, only this time with an entire wedding day ahead instead of a single letter in his pocket.
First Look
The abbey’s grand entrance hall, with its sweeping staircase rising toward the rooms above, became the setting for two of the day’s most tender moments - first with Léanne’s grandfather, and then, finally, with Louis. “We were both incredibly emotional. After spending most of the day apart, finally seeing each other brought an overwhelming sense of comfort and home,” Léanne recalls. Everything the two of them had spent a year building toward suddenly felt real in that instant, and by her account, Louis’s reaction to seeing her for the first time only deepened the joy of the moment.
Photoshoot Before The Ceremony
With an entire abbey and its grounds at their disposal, the couple made the most of just how much variety the property actually offered. “Together with the vintage car and the small brook where we took some pictures, the location gave us a lot of variety for capturing the day,” Léanne says. Between the interior’s Gothic detailing, the sprawling garden, and a scattering of smaller, unexpected corners across the estate, there was rarely a need to repeat a backdrop twice. The vintage car in particular gave the portraits a slightly cinematic, old-world feel that matched the timeless aesthetic Léanne had been building toward since she first chose her dress. At the same time, the brook offered something softer and quieter in contrast - proof that a single property, given enough time and imagination, can hold an entire day’s worth of visually distinct moments without ever leaving its own grounds.
Ceremony
Vows were exchanged in the abbey’s garden, a setting the couple chose specifically for how personal and unrepeatable it made the ceremony feel. Louis walked down the aisle to “All You Need Is Love” by The Beatles. While Léanne entered “La Petite Fille de la Mer” by Vangelis - each entrance was deliberately scored to reflect the individual walking it, rather than defaulting to a single shared song for the whole processional. Her closest friends stood in as flower girls, and her best friend and witness carried the rings. Even the smaller ceremonial choices were made with the same intentionality that had shaped the rest of the day, down to who stood where and which song accompanied each entrance.
Partway through the ceremony, a group of friends stepped forward with a surprise nobody had been told to expect. “Some of our friends surprised us with a choir performance, singing ‘Happy Days’ and ‘Amazing Grace.’ It was such a special moment, and it felt like we were bringing a small piece of American culture into our celebration in France,” Léanne says - a small, unplanned bridge between the two countries that shaped the entire day, arriving exactly where it mattered most. It was the kind of moment no amount of planning could have accounted for, and by most accounts, it ended up being one of the ceremony’s most talked-about details among guests afterward.
Wedding Venue & Decor
Léanne’s connection to the abbey ran deeper than simple aesthetics. Having studied French history and literature and grown up near the Loire Valley surrounded by medieval castles, Gothic architecture had always carried a particular pull for her - something closer to familiarity than admiration. “The abbey’s quiet beauty and welcoming atmosphere made it feel like a true haven of peace, a place that felt like home,” she says of discovering the property, tucked away from Burgundy’s more famous, grander venues.
Décor throughout the day leaned into a palette of deep burgundy and dusty pink, worked closely with florist Tonight Creative Studio to complement the abbey’s Gothic character rather than compete with it. Lace became the defining thread running through nearly every detail - table settings, the cocktail buffet, even a set of custom lace waterlilies made specifically for the wedding - favoring restraint and craftsmanship over abundant floral arrangements. It was a decor approach built entirely around the idea that the venue itself should remain the star of the day.
Couple's Advice
“I can be quite a perfectionist, which sometimes makes the decision-making process more challenging than expected. One of the best pieces of advice I can give is to choose a good wedding planner who can help keep you organized and on track. Our wedding planner was amazing at setting clear goals and deadlines, making sure we stayed on schedule throughout the entire planning process.”
Reception
Dinner was built around introducing American guests to genuine Burgundian gastronomy, working with local partner Festins de Bourgogne to showcase the region’s producers through dishes like foie gras and beef paleron, paired with regional wines and a traditional Moët & Chandon champagne tower. The couple’s first dance came to “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers, a deliberately classic choice that felt meaningful to both of them, before a cake from a Parisian pastry chef closed out the formal portion of the evening.
Later, the celebration shifted entirely. To fold in a piece of Léanne’s American background, the couple built a hidden, speakeasy-inspired bar into the reception - burgers and fries served alongside cigars and personalized matchboxes, giving the night an unexpected, playful turn that stood in deliberate contrast to the elegance of everything that came before it. It was one more example of how deliberately the couple wove both of their cultures through the day, right down to the final hours of the celebration. Looking back at the team behind it, Léanne credits their wedding planner directly for making the rest possible. With her support, they were able to choose vendors who truly understood the atmosphere they wanted to create. “They were not only talented and easy to work with, but also helped bring our vision to life and made the day feel exactly as we had imagined,” Léanne says.
Wedding Team
- Photographer Irena Balashko
- Photographer Nick Zharkov
- Photographer Gabriela Tyrka
- Wedding Planner VIPR Agency
- Photographer @kseniaparisphoto
- Videographer @fatographyi
- Content Creator @lovetoldbysara
- Bridesmaids dresses and bride party dress @montsand_official
- Bride Second dress @millanova
- Jewelry @jenniferbehr
- Bride shoes @manoloblahnik
- Bride party shoes @renecaovilla
- Makeup @lancomeofficial
- Groomsmen's suit @suitsupply
- Champagne @MoetChandon
- Hair products @olaplex
- Catering Festins de Bourgogne
- Florist @tonight.cs
- Music Band @romanetlesdraxters
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