James Middleton and his wife Alizée Thevenet recently celebrated their third wedding anniversary, but new details about their big day have been released in his book, Meet Ella.
The Princess of Wales' brother opened up about his wife's search for her wedding dress, which belonged to his mother Carole Middleton. While the couple had previously told HELLO! that Alizée had stumbled across Carole's bridal gown from her 1980 wedding with Michael during the coronavirus lockdown, they had not revealed that James was oblivious to the sweet gesture and that he was left concerned about Alizee's "blase" approach to wedding planning.
Recalling his wedding day on 11 September 2021, he wrote: "I do not realise it at the time, but it is my mum's wedding dress, last worn when she got married to Dad 41 years earlier. Neither do I know – yet – the story of how Alizee comes to be wearing it now, but I learn later that she and Mum were clearing out cupboards together at Bucklbury during lockdown when Mum came across the dress."
The exclusive photos that James and Alizée shared with HELLO! showed the new version of the boho frilled dress, which had been altered since Carole had worn it.
"A few small adjustments were made so she could wear it off the shoulder. And here she is now, a bouquet of wild flowers in her hand, walking towards me. I feel as if the love surrounding me is palpable.
"I clear my throat, blink away the tears and the ceremony begins," he wrote of the emotional ceremony in Bormes-les-Mimosas, famous for being one of the most beautiful villages in the Côte d’Azur.
Alizée had previously admitted she fell in love with the gown as soon as she tried it on. "My something borrowed was in fact my dress from my mother-in-law Carole who last wore it 41 years ago on her wedding day in June, 1980," Alizée told HELLO!.
"While talking about dresses with Carole and sharing ideas during lockdown for inspiration, I tried on her wedding dress and fell in love with it.
"It fitted me perfectly and was exactly what I wanted. It always troubled me that wedding dresses are only worn once so it was amazing to give such a beautiful dress a second lease of life."
Pre-wedding fears
Alizée's decision to keep her sentimental bridal outfit secret from her husband was "unsettling" for James, who believed she had not organised an outfit.
"'Have you sorted your dress?' I ask her, because the silence has become unsettling. 'Oh yes. All sorted', she replies, sounding almost blase," he wrote.
He wasn't the only one given a fright over the family frock, with one bridesmaid misplacing the dress just hours before the ceremony. Highlighting his bride's relaxed approach to their wedding, James described Alizée as "calm" and "unconcerned."
James recalled: "'No need at all to worry,' she says, sounding distinctly worried, 'but do you happen to know where Alizée's dress is? No none seems to know.' She looks distraught.
"The plan was to keep the dress lying flat, she tells me, but I wonder if someone has accidentally hung it in a cupboard. A series of frantic phone calls later, it emerges that the dress has been whisked away and steamed and is now ready for Alizee to wear.
"Amid all the commotion, one person is blissfully unconcerned. Alizée says calmly, 'If no one can find it, it doesn't matter. I'll just wear something else.'"
James and Alizée said 'I do' at the town hall before driving to their beachside reception, Cafe Leoube, in a vintage 2CV. Bormes-les-Mimosas major François Arizzi, who officiated the civil union, described it as "a very nice and very family ceremony."
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