Camille Parruitte, founder and CEO of fine jewelry brand Nouvel Heritage, met Alec McKenna during their freshman year of college in Boston. While they were merely familiar faces throughout university, it wasn’t until the two moved to New York City separately after graduation that they would connect. “By coincidence, we were both moving on the same day,” Camille shares. “We went on a date that weekend, and we pretty much became inseparable!”
At the time of their engagement, Alec and Camille had been dating for four years and living together in the city. They had talked about marriage before and, of course, Camille’s ring preferences, given her background in fine jewelry. While the two had initially planned on designing the ring together, Camille decided to give creative control to Alec. “I wanted it to be a personal piece that came from him,” the bride notes, “so I only chose the diamond cut—an emerald-cut—and let him work with our designers and my mother on choosing the exact diamond and designing the ring.
In addition to creating her engagement ring, Alec also looked to Camille’s family’s workshop in Paris to create her wedding band, which was white gold and outlined with baguette diamonds. Camille says, “I wear the gold side of the band closest to my engagement ring, which makes the diamond of the engagement ring still the center of attention.”
Once he had officially popped the question in November 2020 the whirlwind of wedding planning began. They decided on March 6, 2021 for their date. “I’m a little superstitious, so finding the perfect date was very important for me,” Camille says. “I picked 3.06.2021. The number three is my lucky number, and six is the number of ‘domestic happiness.'”
While the couple had always imagined hosting their ceremony with both families present, the COVID-19 situation in New York City was unpredictable at the end of the year, making travel and event restrictions difficult to plan around. After giving it some thought, Alec and Camille made the decision to throw a micro-wedding with five of their closest friends and broadcast their celebration to their families over Zoom.
The bride shares, “Over time, the idea really grew on me, and I thought it would be a great story to tell our children one day—having a wedding during COVID-19 with all our families on Zoom.”
Having grown up in Paris, Camille couldn’t skip out on the time-honored tradition of putting together an ensemble tailor-fit for a bride. While shopping with her best friend, Alexandra, she chose the very first look she had tried on—a sheer, Swiss dot Dior blouse and skirt set that is both sweet and flirtatious, claiming “It was love at first sight.”
In her hair, she wore a silk Dior ribbon titled, “Roue de la Fortune,” which means “Wheel of Fortune” in French. “I have a lot of scarves and ribbons,” Camille says. “I thought it would be nice to wear one at the wedding, so that it would be something I could easily re-wear or pass down to my children as a memento.”
The jewelry expert wore the Princess Earrings from her line and also donned an ear cuff, noting how it “gives a modern and maybe edgier touch to a wedding dress.” For her shoes, she slipped on Dior’s iconic J’adior Slingback Pumps, which can be reworn and carry the magic of her wedding day into the future.
“Around my bouquet, as my ‘something blue,’ I attached two silk scarves: one from my grandmother and one my mother got when I was born,” Camille says. “I wanted to be able to have a little piece of my family with me on that day.”
As for the groom, Camille styled him in a light gray ensemble from Suit Supply, coupled with Ferragamo shoes that the bride had gifted him for his last birthday.
After their first look, the bride, groom, and their wedding party took to the streets of SoHo to capture some quintessential pre-cermeony portraits. Camille’s bouquet, created by the team at Flower Witch, made for a bright, colorful contrast against the wintry 33-degree weather along Spring Street.
With only seven people present, Alec and Camille exchanged vows they had written themselves inside the Crosby Street Hotel on a brisk March day. Alec’s brother, Max, officiated the ceremony, and family members tuned in over Zoom wearing festive white to honor the bride and groom.
Following the service, the newlyweds cut the cake, made by Aux Merveilleux de Fred, a French artisan patisserie. Coincidentally, their West Village location was just a few steps away from where Alec lived when he and Camille started dating, and their bakery in France was one that Camille and her mother frequented while she was growing up. Camille shares, “I felt like it was meant to be—it was a little piece of France at my wedding.”
The pair also visited with friends and family over Zoom after the celebration, and Alec made a speech to guests. After logging off, Alec and Camille also insisted on having a formal first dance, even without a large audience. The bride shares, “It was very intimate and romantic, just the two of us with our five guests.”
Looking back at their nuptials, Camille says, “It was a wonderful experience to be able to have such an intimate wedding and still have our families attend the wedding.” In addition to their joyful and personal micro-wedding, Alec and Camille plan to have a big celebration in Spain with both of their families in 2022.