Real Wedding: Kennedy & Brody

French Riviera wedding captured on film

Kennedy and Brody's beautiful love story blossomed into a truly unique wedding, made possible by the couple's creative vision. Custom wedding dress, a villa on the French Riviera, an unforgettable wedding week surrounded by loved ones — all of this was captured in film photos that are impossible to forget. The floral design created by our talented member, Tepee Sauvage, perfectly matched the aesthetics of the event. Below, you will find an interview with the bride and find out more about the wedding organization.

Tell us a little about yourselves. How did you meet? What do you do for a living? What are your hobbies?

We're Kennedy Nicole Schmidt, luxury account manager at The RealReal, and Brody Alec Schmidt, fashion designer. Brody and I have a crazy unique story. We met when we were in college, he was a few years older and I just turned 21. We met through mutual friends over social media and would stay up FaceTiming for hours. I’ll never forget driving to meet him for the first time in a little southern town. It was definitely love at first sight. Throughout the next couple of years we always would meet up, talk all night and dream together and our relationship would grow deeper but never took that full step to start dating. We felt like it wasn’t the right time yet and we weren’t living in the same place. We wanted to be together but knew in our hearts that our paths would cross again someday somehow. And that’s exactly what happened. On a hot summer day in June, I packed up my things and left Los Angeles and moved to Florence Italy to pursue a new career opportunity. I was really nervous about the move, leaving all of my friends and life in the states but truly felt excited for a new adventure and ready for a change. Little did I know, Brody Schmidt would move down the street in Florence, Italy the same week. He reached out about two months after we had both been living there whenever he saw through social media that I was in Florence. Whenever I saw his name pop up on my phone and realized what had happened my mouth literally dropped… I couldn’t believe we had both moved across the world to the same little beautiful dreamy town full of art and the most amazing culture. We met up on an autumn night over some spritz and cigarettes and the rest was history… we spent the rest of our time living in Florence falling in love, traveling all throughout Europe, creating and dreaming together.

Can you share your engagement story?

When our European adventure came to an end we decided to come back to the states and move back to New York. We had both lived in NYC before at different times. One night Brody planned a date for us, this was truly a normal thing.. as we would plan extravagant dates for each other once a month. Taking us to crazy places like a castle in Certaldo Italy, Copenhagen and more. He told me he hired a videographer that shoots really unique indie videos and we were going to run around the city. We went to a couple different spots all throughout the city and at the end, to my complete surprise he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him by writing “Will you Marry me” in lipstick on our window on our NYC fire escape.

Did you have any pre-wedding events, like a rehearsal dinner or bridal shower?

The entire wedding weekend was 3 nights and 4 days. On the frist night we had a welcome party that was masquerade themed and everyone wore incredible masks and gowns and suits. It was the great gatsby party of my dreams. The next day we had a day in the sun and took a boat to all of the different beach towns along the coast and hangout at our own private beach at Domain Rocabella. The day of the wedding, the girls and I had a nice garden party near the pool — shell glasses and colorful dresses. At the same time, the boy hung out in another part of the villa, having beers and a nice swim.

Where was your wedding? Why did you choose this venue?

Sea side town in the French Riviera La Pradet, France. The villa was filmed in the movie "Downtown Abbey: A New Era."

What was the concept behind your wedding and how did you find your inspiration?

We wanted a wedding that felt true to us. We wanted to incorporate our creativity and love for fashion and travel as much as possible. We found this incredible villa (Domain Rocabella) tucked in a beautiful sea side town in La Pradet, France, in the French Riviera. The villa truly made our dreams come true, every room was beautifully designed with a mix of modern and French culture. Our favorite rooms were the massive light pink foyer and the green room with a beautiful pink mural floor and big sea view windows.

How long did it take to plan your wedding? Did you encounter any challenges during the planning process?

3 months, not really — just had to wake up early to make calls with vendors in europe and put in work everyday to make it happen and of course take deep breaths!

How many guests did you have? And what was the seating arrangement at the wedding like?

25 guests, all guests sat in the crowd, we didn’t have wedding party stand with us at the altar, because it was so sweet and intimate we felt it was best to have everyone in the crowd with the best view.

Tell us about your outfits. How many different styles have you tried?

For the wedding, I custom designed my wedding dress and The LG project constructed it for me. I tried on maybe 20 different dresses but decided that going custom was totally the way to go.I wanted something that felt true to me and have always been inspired by Bridgette Bardot and all of her corset curvy dresses that she has worn in her movies. Brody wore a vintage Dior suit he found at a vintage store on the streets of Paris. As he is a designer, he created and wore lots of different pieces throughout the wedding weekend.

What was your first dance song? Did you choreograph or improvise?

Our first dance song was "Go Solo" Song by Tom Rosenthal. We had a video that Brody had made of us on Super 8film of us falling in love in Europe that played behind us while we danced, it was so romantic and the coolest way to show everyone at the wedding how we fell in love.

What was the most memorable moment from your wedding day?

The words that were spoken during the speeches were extremely touching and there were tears all over the room.We truly felt like one big family holding hands and sharing memories, laughs and stories, as the wedding guest size was rather intimate. I’ll never forget my dad’s speech about his little girl growing up and he mentioned to everyone, that right before he walked me down the aisle… I looked at him and said "Dad it feels like heaven, I feel Jackson looking down on us." Referencing what I had told my dad earlier that day, and mentioning my twin brother Jackson that had passed. I also will never forget the moment Brody and I locked eyes whenever I walked down the aisle, that feeling is truly indescribable and feels like real heaven on earth.

Real Wedding: Kennedy & Brody | French Riviera Wedding Captured on Film

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

I couldn’t be more thrilled with my choices for vendors. It’s actually a really special unique decision to chose the right people that you’ll be spending your day with. I cannot explain how grateful and how happy I am that I chose the people I did, a lot of my relationships with the vendors have turned into special friendships that I will cherish for a lifetime.

Were there national/religious traditions at your wedding and how did you implement them?

The ceremony was extremely special and Christ centered, as we are both strong lovers of Jesus. I walked down the aisle to a beautiful violin version of “‘oceans”. We took communion during the ceremony and prayed together. We also had a beautiful worship song that played “King of my Heart” so everyone in the crowd could take a moment to reflect and worship God. We had our friend Grace Hazelgrove from our church in Paris lead the ceremony and share our crazy story of God bringing us together all the way across the world to Florence Italy and intertwining our lives in the most beautiful and powerful way. Our prayer was that everyone would leave feeling even more on fire for God and a revelation of how he can do unbelievably big beautiful things in everyone’s life. God’s presence was all over June 12,2023.

What advice would you give to couples who are currently planning their wedding?

As crazy as the planning season can be, truly take a moment to take it in. Before you know it, your wedding will be here and you’ll miss the the anticipation before. Truly, in every season whether its preparing for marriage or the post wedding blues — always make sure to stay present and love every second of every season.