‘There Was Only Love’: Simon Porte Jacquemus Shares the Story Behind His Wedding in Provence

On Saturday, August 27, Simon Porte Jacquemus and Marco Maestri said “I do” in Charleval, a charming village in the South of France. Simon wanted “an energy of love” for his Provencal union, which took place on a sunny afternoon in the town hall square with guests attending from around the world. Here, Jacquemus tells Vogue all the details about the big day.

Jacquemus and Maestri with Dua Lipa.

Photo: Théo de Gueltzl

Charleval: a village of love for Jacquemus

“This is the village of my childhood. My father comes from Charleval and my mother comes from Mallemort, which is just next door. I grew up in a small hamlet in the heart of Provence. I wanted an outdoor wedding in the town hall square. In any case, we could not all go inside, with 240 guests. This was a gamble because last week it was still raining, but I liked the village celebration aspect with a Pagnol-style countryside procession. Basically, what touched me the most was seeing all of the village’s locals in the streets. There were many familiar faces from my childhood and some had binoculars, and they called my name as we passed by and clapped from the windows. My grandfather was afraid that they would throw tomatoes at us because we are gay, but there was only love. Having grown up gay in a small village, it felt so good to feel all of that love, and that this village was celebrating a gay couple. It was beautiful and important. It brought a sense of peace.”

How Simon Porte Jacquemus and Marco Maestri first met

“Four years ago, I was shooting the first images for Jacquemus menswear in Marseille with Marco’s brother. And I told him, ‘Oh, I dream of falling in love with a guy from the South of France.’ He answered, ‘What about my brother? His name is Marco.’ On the train back home, I was already on it. I sent him a message immediately, asking if he would have dinner with me. He replied: ‘Not straight away, by in two days if you want.’ I think he was hungover. We saw each other two days later, ate pasta, and never left each other's side.”

The newlyweds kiss.

Photo: Théo de Gueltzl

The path to happiness

“This is the path of my childhood at the foot of the Luberon. At the end of this road, there is my house, and my mom. My family still lives in the area. My grandmother and my aunt live on one side. My brother and sister-in-law, my father, and my other grandparents live in the middle. Everyone lives three minutes away from one another. This road is at the crossroads of our family. At the end of the road, there was this huge castle, a somewhat abandoned Provencal building that I have always loved. As a child, I often went there on my bike. When I was nine years old, I asked the owners if it was for sale. It is a house that has been in their family for 300 years. I have always been drawn to this place, and I used to go back there regularly. I also took my sweetheart there, telling him that it was my childhood home, my fantasy, my dream château. When we started to look for venues for the wedding, we visited some very beautiful estates in Saint-Tropez. But they did not have the soul, the feeling, or the connection that I wanted. I told Marco, ‘I don’t have my mom anymore and I need to be at the end of this road. It would make me feel better.’ He immediately agreed and it was perfect. We set up this long dinner table there. It’s very Provençal, and these trees were planted 300 years ago by the owners’ great-great-great grandfather. They are so beautiful. It's simple and majestic at the same time.”

The table setting along the road to Jacquemus’s childhood home.

Photo: Théo de Gueltzl

Liline’s dress

“I don’t have my mom anymore, so it was my grandmother who walked me down the aisle. It was very emotional for her, this moment without her daughter. She still can’t get over it! She was welcomed like a star in Charleval with her grandson on her arm. It was the first wedding of any of her grandchildren. In the ‘Le Papier’ collection, this is the first dress I sketched, and I designed it for her, really for her.”

Jacquemus with his grandmother, Liline.

Photo: Théo de Gueltzl

The grooms

“I wanted to be quite solemn, very classic and at the same time have this piece of a veil in my pocket. I found it poetic and it sent a nice message, bringing some fragility and some femininity. The vintage car was a surprise from Marco. I liked the cliché side. As well as the wedding cake where we were the living figurines on the top, like a scene worthy of Jean-Paul Goude. I had already sketched this cake for the cover of Vogue. I dreamed of having a cover that takes on all of these codes of marriage, and I found it beautiful to become our own figurines on the cake. The visual works well! There were all these choux pastries lined up in tiers, and there were too many! Under the sun, the next day, we were not sure if they were still edible.”

The guestlist

“I loved the sensuality of the women in their transparent dresses. Mica was sublime in the golden light of the sunset. Dua Lipa was gorgeous! There was a lot of talk about the transparency. People were rather shocked, but at the same time, we can do what we want! Also, there were some comments about Dua Lipa’s white dress because it is traditionally viewed as inappropriate to wear white to a wedding. Well, we found everything to be airy, vaporous, and light. It also seems that people could not believe their eyes when seeing Dua Lipa dancing to ‘Les Démons de minuit’ or ‘Voyage, voyage’ by Desireless. Yes, Dua Lipa really does like French songs and I love ‘Voyage, voyage!’ Anyway, it’s a wedding, not an after-party and weddings are about hits! Our aunts and grandmothers were present. We needed to kiss, dance, and sing together. You can’t be a snob at a wedding.”

Mica Argañaraz.

Photo: Théo de Gueltzl

The big band

“My father is in a band with my brother. He played a few songs during the cocktail party, including ‘C’est pas sérieux’ by the Chats Sauvages as a tribute to my uncle Daniel Jacquemus who was a bass player in Dick Rivers’ band. My uncle was a local legend of the village! Marco’s father came to join them on stage as a surprise. It was really cute and heartfelt. Everyone was coming up to me and saying, ‘Your dad loves the stage so much, we understand why you love the runway!’ My father was so comfortable that you would have thought was playing the Olympia. He is a true showman. He’s been on stage ever since he was young. In the 1990s, he was in a band, and he dressed as a woman, à la David Bowie. It was very sexy, punk, and rock’n’roll. I have pictures of my dad with lipstick on.”

The wedding party

“After that, the party was well and truly underway! Teki Latex had put together a great music lineup and there was something for everyone. Around 5 a.m., I showed up in a wedding dress, 200 yards of tulle over a white stretch bodycon dress and a large removable petticoat. There was also a rack of 100 wedding dresses. Everyone rushed to it! We were all in wedding dresses, it was hysteria. I was the last one standing—not something I am proud of!—at around 10 a.m. My darling was sleeping in the wedding dresses, a beautiful young man languishing in the tutus, which made for a great picture! I should have taken more photos but I was exhausted.”

Marion, Simon’s best friend; Félix Porte, Simon’s brother; Simon, Liline, and Marco

The message behind this wedding

“I wanted us to be Mr. and Mr. Everyone, something very simple. The mayor reminded us that gay marriage is a French right. He has his own story. When he officiated his own gay son’s wedding, six or seven years ago, he received a lot of threatening letters. But on that day, there was so much love and celebration for that wedding in his village that for him personally, it was beautiful. It did him good to experience this at that time. I had the wedding of my dreams. It was important for us to share it, we wanted it to be a voice, the message of two men who love each other. At 5:30 p.m. when we said ‘I do,’ a T-shirt was released on the site, at the same time with all sales donated to Urgence Homophobie. In the same way, we did not ask for a gift but rather for donations to the association. We have been spoiled by life, so it was important to support this association in which I am involved. There were no demands, just a simple and poetic message.”

The honeymoon

“I’m going to travel to my office instead! We are nice and relaxed in our house in Lavandou. My dream is to go to Egypt, maybe in the winter. But I can’t wait to get back. We have been talking about nothing but sugar plums for the last month and a half. Now, I would like to have some more professional conversations!”