For Her Provence Nuptials, Designer Katherine Tash Created a Wedding Dress That Told Her Love Story

When Katherine Tash and Thomas Chevral Tate planned their first date in January 2021, Katherine had low expectations. “We had a picnic on the Palisades Bluffs that I thought I'd be in and out of in an hour,” she says. But instead, they spent four hours watching the sun set and the stars come out. “It was pretty much love at first sight, and we’ve been inseparable ever since,” says Katherine. Within the year, the couple had adopted two more dogs as companions to Katherine’s 10-year-old pup, and moved in—with Thomas’s two children and three pets—in a house they bought together.

In July 2022, while on a trip to Europe, Thomas prepared to pop the question. While an heirloom diamond was being reset at home into an engagement ring for Katherine, Thomas found a pave band to use for the proposal. “For the journey, I squirreled the ring deep down in my luggage, buried in a sock,” he says. “I had a feeling if Katie ever needed to look for something, a single-balled sock would be an easy object to ignore… and it worked great.”

As the couple toured the cliffs of Cannes, Thomas waited for the perfect moment: a picnic in the town of Courmes in the French Alps. “On a picnic blanket shaded by a grove of birch trees, overlooking the Gorges de Loup in the shadow of the French Alps, I proposed,” he says. “As fairy tale as it sounds, truly. It was everything I wanted, private, just the two of us, and an incredibly full circle moment from our first date picnic, to a simple picnic where I asked her to spend our lives together on the other side of the world.” When the couple returned to their hotel after dinner, they called their families to share the news—but Thomas’ children weren’t surprised: He had included them in the plans from the beginning.

As Katherine and Thomas began planning their wedding, they focused on creating an intimate, relaxed atmosphere in the region where they had gotten engaged. With help from Rhiann Janak of Lucy Till French Weddings, they chose Chateau de Torreau for their 60-guest wedding on July 12, 2023. “We wanted it to feel like a really grand family holiday in the French countryside,” says the couple. “Nothing too precious, or overwrought—we wanted everyone to feel at home and mostly have fun celebrating.”

Katherine, the CEO and designer of bridal brand Katherine Tash, set to work designing her wedding day gowns—which posed a bigger challenge than she had imagined. “This moment was very hard for me as a wedding dress designer—when you have every look you could possibly imagine at your fingertips, how do you choose one?” she says. “At one point, I had five dresses designed for the wedding day, but ultimately I paired it down to two. I didn’t want to spend so much time away from our family and friends changing in and out of clothing; I wanted to soak in the moment and be together.” 

When the wedding day arrived, Katherine and Thomas kept that focus, soaking up the joy of their nuptials and the love of family and friends that surrounded them. “Set very clear expectations with your wedding planner on the experience you want to have, and then on the day of, remember that the plan is set, let go, and enjoy the ride,” says Katherine. “Don’t stress about the little details—nobody notices them anyway.”

See the final version of the gowns Katherine designed—and the rest of the details from the couple’s relaxed, elegant affair—in these photos by Giuseppe Marano.

While balancing work and family commitments at home, Katherine and Thomas left much of the on-the-ground work to their planner. They requested a venue that could accommodate their families, creating a cozy and comfortable atmosphere for the wedding weekend. “We chose a chateau with plenty of bedrooms, gathering spaces, and fabulous activities so that our families could stay together and there was less traveling around,” says Katherine. “I wanted us to be able to wake up on our wedding day and feel like we were being married in our backyard, and getting ready in our living space as much as possible.” 

Chateau de Torreau ticked every box for the couple—including an exterior color scheme in Katherine’s favorite palette. “I love the color green, so the venue with the mint green shutters pulled my heartstrings, and the second I saw it I knew it was the one,” she says.

The couple asked Mahsa Zo of Sound of Script to create an invitation suite in their white and green color scheme, along with menus, programs, and other day-of papers. “She was a dream to work with,” says Katherine. “She really understood the vision we were trying to achieve with the paper elements feeling like a Renaissance painting.”

Thomas invited his father and son to join him for a pre–ceremony shave and hair styling; in a nod to both his Scottish and Eastern European heritage, he chose to wear his shoulder-length hair in a twisted, half-up bun. “I asked my father to spend some time with me, talking about life and the importance of sharing this moment together,” says Thomas. “I could see the pride he felt, and we said some things that were long overdue. That is a moment I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

Katherine designed both her wedding gown and her after-party frock—a fully beaded mini dress in shades of pale pink. “The [mini dress] is embroidered with English roses at the hem, and California poppies up towards the waist, with butterflies flying out and up the bodice,” she says. “Eduarda [Salmi of Via Sketch Studio] and I also designed it to engineer little fringe pieces at the hem for movement and to imitate drops of rain or dew drops falling off of the roses. That was such a great look in photos as it spun around.”

Katherine describes the vision for her wedding day beauty look as “elegant, clean, and timeless.” “I wanted to look back and know that I looked just like the most elevated version of myself, but still like myself—and I wanted to love the look for years to come.” She asked her hair and makeup artist, Joana Ronquillo, to bring out her eyes and keep the rest of her look neutral—“a very ‘no-makeup’ makeup look,” she says. 

The loose, flowing waves, though, were a last-minute decision: “I was truly wrestling with the choice until the second I sat in the makeup chair. Ultimately I wore it down. It felt more romantic for me, and I wanted a bit of softness around the face, and I know that Tom loves my hair down, he’s always touching it,” says Katherine. “At the very last minute, the wind kicked up and I didn’t want to have hair stuck to my lip gloss, so we tucked my hair behind my ear and that was that!”

When she began designing her gown, Katherine set a high standard for herself. “I knew for the ceremony gown that I wanted a silhouette I could look back on 20 years from now and still love. This was hard as a wedding dress designer—I’m always thinking about the next design, or how I could design something differently,” she says. “I probably redesigned the dress 20-plus times before settling on this look!”

The final result was a draped, off-the-shoulder silhouette and a flowing overskirt she added for the ceremony. “I love an off-the-shoulder look on myself, I knew I wanted a lot of interior support, and I wanted to show a bit of leg,” she says. “I knew I didn’t want to walk around the reception in a huge skirt—I wanted something that gave me more mobility—but I also felt the smaller skirt was lacking in some drama to match the venue. The removable overskirt was a no-brainer.”

Although Katherine rarely includes embroidery or beading on her designs, she knew both were essential. “It feels like ‘me,’ and I knew this dress needed to speak to who I am as a person and a bride,” she says. She and Salmi worked together to customize the embellishments with symbols unique to the couple, including “celestial motifs that would represent sacred moments from the beginning of Tom’s and my love story,” says Katherine, and “a heart holding our initials, wrapped in a ribbon that’s being carried through a rising sun by a little dove.” Images of the couple’s childhood homes line a beaded path along the overskirt, ending in the Pacific Palisades bluff where the couple shared their first date. “The skirt represents our journey to finding one another,” says Katherine.

The bride also chose a meaningful bouquet of orchid and amaranthus. “My mom always had orchids growing around the house—it felt comforting to me, and like a reflection of our family,” she says. “I have orchids tattooed on the inside of my arm as a reminder of home.”

Katherine and Thomas spent the morning of their wedding sipping coffee together as they walked around the venue’s grounds, and then met for their first look after donning their ceremony attire. Since they typically spend most of their day together, the break made their reunion even more memorable. “It felt like coming home, being able to hug each other and take in the gravity of what we were here for,” says Katherine. “The commitment we were making to each other, to our families, and to have all of our loved ones witnessing. We knew the rest of the day was going to be enveloped with everyone else, and this was time to just be the two of us.”

Thomas opted for shoes with a sentimental history—Paul Stuart velvet loafers he already owned. “Katie bought the shoes as a surprise gift for me two years prior, to wear to one of her best friends’ weddings,” says Thomas. “It was one of the first gifts she had ever surprised me with, and they were perfect with the tux. It added a nice memory to the day.” 

Katherine chose her footwear for comfort and practicality—and to complement the high slit in her gown. “I wanted a very minimal shoe since the gown was beaded; those two elements didn’t need to compete. I also needed a wide heel to walk through the grass and gravel at the venue. This was a much harder combination to find than I thought it would be!” she says. “Amina Muaddi’s were perfect. The moment I tried them on I loved them, and they were so comfortable throughout the night.”

Katherine and Thomas set up their ceremony at the entrance of the chateau, adding a statement arch from florist Cecilia Flor to soften the existing stonework and keeping their floral arrangements loose and asymmetrical. “We wanted to feel like the chateau had been overgrown with gorgeous flowers hanging from everything, like we were walking through a secret garden,” says Katherine. “Nothing too manicured—we both loved that undone floral look. We really wanted to allow the chateau and natural surroundings to speak for themselves. It was already so beautiful—we didn’t feel the need to add or take away from the venue itself.”

Thomas, his mother, and his children walked down the aisle together; he wore a Dior  tuxedo and a boutonnière of baby’s breath that his mother made. “My mother holding my arm down the aisle and then giving me a loving embrace at the base of the stairs was a beautiful moment for me,” he says.

During the ceremony, his son and daughter sat with their grandmother in the front row. “Seeing my children watch me go through this incredibly significant moment and ceremony in front of all of our family and friends—what a true privilege,” he says. “What a joy to celebrate with them.”

Katherine asked both her parents to walk her down the aisle, but the trio had to make a last-minute adjustment. “Once we got to the aisle, we realized my dress was too big to fit all three of us in a row!” she says. “So I kissed my mom and she walked ahead of us. My dad walked me up to the stairs where Tom was waiting.” For the processional, they chose “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers. “It’s one of my all-time favorite songs, and I couldn’t think of a better way to express in song how I feel walking towards my husband,” she says.

Though they decided against a traditional bridal party, the couple’s children—Emme and Liam—had roles in the ceremony. “Emme had asked me for two specific things in this wedding: First, that she really wanted to be the flower girl, and second, that she really wanted to wear a KTB dress that I designed just for her,” says Katherine. “We worked together on sketches, but I ultimately surprised her with the dress. The intention was for the dress to feel whimsical while not feeling childish—she did not want to feel like a ‘kid’—and suited for the setting of the wedding.”

Katherine designed a dress constructed from four layers of pleated silk organza, finished with puffed sleeves and silk ribbons tied in the back. “This was actually very fun to design, and stretched my design brain in such a different direction!” says Katherine. “And it's a really beautiful moment in our relationship together that I will cherish forever.”

The groom’s father officiated the ceremony, which included personalized vows Katherine and Thomas wrote as a surprise for each other. “I wrote my vows the morning of while in hair and makeup—don't suggest! I cried through it many times,” says Katherine. “I think it truly captured the range of my feelings and love for Tom, and what I wanted to say to him in front of our loved ones. I also spoke to our children in my vows. I wanted to recognize them, to express how much I love them, how much I love our little family, and how much I appreciate that they have accepted me into their party of three. This isn’t just a marriage between myself and their father, but all four of us becoming a family together.”

Thomas wrote the first draft of his vows with a little more time to spare: On the flight to Paris four days before the wedding. “I had long thought about the tone and energy I wanted the vows to achieve, but finding the right way to put that sensibility into words was proving very difficult in the midst of our packed daily lives,” he says. He put the draft aside, and came back to his vows on the morning of the wedding. “I sat for quite some time, refining those final words,” he says. “I may have shed a tear or two in the process of writing my vows—who am I kidding here, I was a chest-heaving, love-riddled, blubbering fool. Had to get all that out before the big moment so I could read them without my voice breaking during the ceremony.”

The couple asked their guests to stick to a black-tie dress code, and requested that the women in their family wear gowns in any shade of pink. “We wanted the family photos to have an element of formality to them especially,” says Katherine. “Tuxedos for the men is a no-brainer, they all looked so sharp.”

Guests mingled at the al fresco cocktail hour where they sipped two signature drinks: palomas, chosen by Thomas, and espresso martinis requested by Katherine.

The outdoor dining tables were covered in white linens and lined with lush garlands of greenery accented by gold taper candleholders. “We wanted to have lots of sparkling lights on as the night set in, so we chose a canopy of lights over the dance floor, along with chandeliers for an added touch,” says Katherine.

For the newlyweds, choosing the menu from Le Cinquieme Saison Traiteur was the easiest part of planning the wedding. “Tom and I both love sharing a meal with friends and family, so this was one of the most important elements of the night to us—sharing time together around a dinner table, says Katherine. The four-course meal included fresh lobster, pan-fried tenderloin garnished with edible flowers, individual cheese plates, and miniature desserts alongside the wedding cake.

At the recommendation of their planner, Katherine and Thomas hired The Troubadors, a strolling band. “It was truly one of the best decisions we could have made,” says the couple. “As dinner proceeded, the Troubadours walked through the dining area, entertaining each table with audience-choice songs from their limitless catalog. It kept the energy very high during the dinner and then led straight into dancing.”

Taking the dance floor with her new husband became one of Katherine’s favorite parts of the day. “Tom is the best dancer,” she says. “I think it’s from his years of dance as a kid and his early career on stage, learning everything from jazz to classic waltz to Flamenco. He is truly a wonderful dancer, and he has so much fun it’s infectious—I can’t help but enjoy myself, too.”

During the reception, the couple stepped out for Katherine to change into her second look—giving them a special moment alone. “It gave us a moment to step away and check in with each other on the magnitude of the whole experience,” says Thomas. “We also were able to look down on the party from the second floor of the Château, and see all of our family and friends gathered in the night, dancing, dancing, and having a wonderful time on our behalf, celebrating.”

Katherine and Thomas served a three-tiered strawberry and verbena wedding cake, frosted with buttercream. “The caterer and florist worked together to add a little floral element around the tiers so that the cake felt like it was floating in flowers on the table,” says Katherine. “We both wanted fruit in the cake, something very light and fresh for a summer wedding in Provence.” After the cake was cut, they poured out a Champagne tower—then returned to the dance floor for the remainder of the evening, where they spun around underneath the fairy lights until it was time to return to the chateau.