Prince William wore an off-white suit, Kate Middleton sported a green dress—and both of them were very careful not to upstage the bride and groom.
That’s the inside scoop on the secret wedding of the year between Kate’s brother James and Alizée Thevenet, according, at least, to the mayor of the picturesque hilltop village in the South of France who officiated at the nuptials, which took place surrounded by some 50 of their closest family—and their beloved dogs.
The mayor of Bormes-les-Mimosas, François Arizzi, 63, has painted a picture of an intimate and understated ceremony attended by around 50 people.
In an interview with local newspaper Var Matin, Arizzi said it was a “a very pleasant and family-centered ceremony” notable for its absence of “salamalecs”—a pejorative French word used to describe excessive formality and exaggerated courtesies.
Arizzi said: “There were about 50 people, including Pippa. Prince William and Kate were there too but they did not want to steal the limelight from the newlyweds, Alizée Thevenet and James Middleton, who is a very nice boy.”
He said that the wedding, a civil union at the town hall, took place in Bormes, which was a regular vacation destination for the former French President Jaques Chirac, because the Thevenet family had recently acquired a property in the neighborhood.
Arizzi said that the wedding was “all organized with the utmost discretion” and that some of the guests, presumably including William and Kate and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, had arrived via private jet to Toulon-Hyères Airport, which is around 15 miles from Bormes.
“I was in on the secret but I could not say anything,” he joked, adding that the foreign contingent “had a security service, and we had also reinforced the security on our side.”
The couple are passionate dog owners, and Arrizzi referred to the fact that they first met after James’ dog approached Thevenet at a private London club as he described how they took pictures after the happy event with their canines.
He said: “The bride and groom were very happy, they were able to pose and take pictures in front of the town hall, and the two dogs, who caused them to meet in the first place, were there. They then went to a private venue to celebrate.”
Pictures of the couple posted on their social media accounts show them posing with their dogs, Luna and Mabel.
Arizzi also offered an intriguing insight into the dress code at the wedding, saying: “Prince William did not have any formal attire, but wore a beige and off-white suit. The princess had a long dress of a very light green color.”
Arizzi joked that he chatted to the couple in “bad English” saying: “I was able to interact with them in very bad English, we talked about the charms of Bormes-les-Mimosas and its climate, banalities.”
The local paper said that he then laughingly added, “It was a simple moment and I made no greater impression than that.”
Middleton, an entrepreneur and mental health campaigner, and Thevenet, a financial analyst, wed on Saturday. Middleton shared the news on Instagram, calling Alizee the “love of [his] life.”
The pair have been engaged since September 2019 and twice delayed their marriage due to the pandemic.
