Christina Senia, co-founder of sustainable jewelry label SENIA New York, met Mark Bowtell, general manager at SPORTIME John McEnroe Tennis, only two days after she moved to New York City and signed her new lease. The pair ran into each other at Hotel Chantelle and spoke for hours. “I learned that Mark had suffered from Guillain-barre induced paralysis while playing tennis at LSU. After overcoming this adversity, he had maintained such a positive outlook on life despite being dealt such an unfair hand,” Christina explains. “I was struck by his character resilience and made plans for a first date.”
After five-and-a-half years together, Mark proposed at Amangiri. “He wanted the engagement to be a complete surprise because he felt so guilty that I had designed my own ring,” Christina says. “He proposed with a rare elongated hexagon diamond, which took months to source.”
Once engaged, the couple knew they wanted to get married in Nice, where Mark grew up spending parts of the year at his family’s home overlooking Le Plongeoir. The weekend began with a boat day, followed by a white party at Baia Bella in Beaulieu-sur-mer. The ceremony was set at Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. “We decided on a style that was modern, whimsical, and colorful to celebrate the beauty of the South of France,” Christina shares. To help bring their vision to life, the couple hired Sumptuous Events Paris and DX Events. And A Fine Press set the tone with a colorful invitation suite.
For the “A Night in White” welcome party, Christina wore a custom magenta sea shell dress that she designed alongside The LG Project with amethyst gems from the 1800s that were passed down from her great grandparents—Italian jewelers who fled to Africa after World War II. Mark wore a custom lavender Suitsupply suit with Golden Goose sneakers, gifted by the bride’s friend and the brand’s head of communications, Giorgina Fioruzzi, and painted by menswear designer Kent Anthony.
On the day-of, Christina got ready at the Royal Riviera, where her hair was curled by Victoria Ralph and Helen Rose Warwick-Drake gave the bride a dewy beauty look. Then, she stepped into her floral-embellished Oscar de la Renta wedding dress, styled by her friend, Raz Martinez.
Mark looked handsome in a Suitsupply tuxedo, featuring the wedding date and “L’Hotel Bowtell” embroidered on it. For the special occasion, Christina also designed a custom pocket square with Kent that had a special phrase and imagery of the venue.
On July 6, 2023, the bride’s grandmother walked down the aisle in place of a flower girl, followed by the bridesmaids in candy-colored silk dresses and floral bangles that Christina had designed. The couple’s friend, Michael Ward, officiated the ceremony and paid tribute to Mark’s grandfather, Andrew McKenna, who tragically passed away two days before the wedding.
After Christina and Mark exchanged their own vows and were declared officially married, the cocktail hour buzzed with a French jazz band and a string quartet. “Guests mingled over the pasta bar, which due to the language barrier, almost was an escargot bar—a topic that divided the 160 guests hailing from 15 different countries,” the bride shares.
To enjoy the Potel et Chabot–catered dinner and dancing, Christina changed into a satin look, again designed with The LG Project, who also took care of her after-party ensemble. After heartfelt toasts, friends of the family, David Bryan of Bon Jovi, Michael Ghegan, and Kozlow, surprised guests and played a roster of classics live.
Fireworks dashed through the night sky, as “A Sky Full of Stars” played out. Gelato and endless espresso martinis in the garden topped off the soirée, before guests headed inside to dance more with Timo Weiland and MARTINBEATZ.
Christina’s third and final look of the night was a polka-dot floral mini, styled with gloves. At the end of the night, the father-daughter and mother-son dances were only followed by the best man’s speech at 2:30 a.m., late-night bites, and dancing until dawn.
