What started out as “Yacht Week” in Croatia turned into a whirlwind romance for Eugenie Vullierme-Fitzgerald and Alexander Denise. Partway through the holiday, the future pair attended a fête at an Old English fort. “Alex walked over and tried to stealthily steal some of the vodka on our table, and I caught him and yelled at him!” exclaims Eugenie. Despite the inauspicious meeting, the two got to talking and hit it off right away. “We were inseparable for the remainder of the week,” she muses. After just the second day of their acquaintance, Alexander asked Eugenie to come with him to his family’s home in Nice, France. Though she agreed to the trip, she first had to fulfill obligations in Rome, where she had friends coming to visit at her family’s home. Three days later, she was on a plane, and Alexander picked her up at the airport. “Halfway through the drive he looked at me and said ‘Oh my god I just realized you’re about to meet my parents!’” laughs Eugenie. The meeting went well, and she postponed her return trip home to Los Angeles. When she did fly back to California, it was to pack up her things and move to London to be with Alexander. 

For their anniversary, the couple planned to return to Nice. Before the trip, Eugenie was working from home when her beloved asked her to come out to the roof terrace. “I begrudgingly agreed, as I wasn’t in the best mood,” she remembers. On the terrace was a sea of flowers and a bottle of Champagne. After sharing how Eugenie was the best thing that’s ever happened to him and asking if she was happy, Alexander asked Eugenie to be his wife. “Then we went down stairs where his whole family was waiting with hors d’ouerves and Champagne and we celebrated all night!” gushes the bride. 

With an English-and-French groom, and an American, Italian, and French bride, many countries were up for consideration for the nuptials. Ultimately, Alex encouraged Genie to choose Los Angeles. “Basically we felt that because I had moved my life to London it was fair for us to get married where I grew up,” she concedes. Despite the long distance, Genie went without a professional consultant and planned the nuptials herself, though she did receive a fair amount of advice from her mother. “I was so particular I didn’t really allow people to help me very much so I was responsible for every single detail,” the bride admits.

Due to Eugenie’s love of flowers, and abundance of blooms was seen throughout the day. After walking down the lush aisle of rose petals, she and Alex were wed under a gorgeous arch with cascading greenery. “I wanted a really romantic look. A little wild looking – lots of creams and pinks and light greens – very tendrilly and big,” she shares. The bride also had her florist and cake designer work together so that fresh flowers would trail down the layers of the lemon and vanilla confection. 

Although the celebration was held in California, the couple blended American and British traditions together. They forewent a grand entrance, bouquet and garter tosses, and the father-daughter dance, but still had a first dance, cake cutting, and toasts. “We did the speeches throughout the meal, having one during each course,” explains the bride. Though the ceremony started late due to fretting over the bridesmaids’ outfits, Eugenie and Alexander were still thrilled with the results. “I think our guests were what made the day, we had people from all over the world – Japan, London, Italy, France, the U.S., China, Spain… the list goes on,” gushes Genie. “All of these people and cultures made for a wonderful group of people to party the night away with!”