Francine Salonga and Aba Omodele Lucien first caught a glimpse of one another when their best friends—who happened to be engaged—introduced them at a birthday party. “My first impression of him was that he was a silly boy that was galavanting around New York and had way too much fun,” Francine laughs of her initial thoughts of Aba. Although the pair didn’t hit it off right away, a few months later, when she ran into him at their best friend’s wedding in Lake Como, everything changed.
“As if it were straight out of a movie, I saw him as the elevators opened onto the hotel lobby, and he looked brighter than I remembered,” Francine says. “I was totally smitten!” Francine and Aba spent the entire weekend together, stealing glances and taking photos all while celebrating the newlyweds in one of the most picturesque destinations in Europe. When the two made it back to New York, they finally shared an official first date.
One year later, Aba proposed amidst the glow of sunrise on an isolated cliff top overlooking the Dead Sea in the Judean Desert. Once Francine and Aba returned from Tel Aviv, newly engaged, Francine promptly booked Château de Bourron outside of Paris for the August affair and enlisted Rachael Ellen Events to adhere to all of the wedding planning details. “I was really inspired by Parisian fashion,” the bride-to-be says of the aesthetic. “Once I picked my modern dress, the rest fell into place. We were going for French Vogue, colorful, modern and editorial.”
Francine always imagined she might don a lace dress on her day off. Instead, she fell smitten with a contemporary look by Gustavos Nunez’s Verdin at Modern Bride in Chicago. “I was inspired by ’90s Linda Evangelista in Mugler,” the bride says of her ceremony look. “I wanted it to be old Hollywood with some inspired Parisian funk and flare.” The wedding ensemble was only complete with elegant Cornelia James gloves, Prada shoes, and earrings by Jennifer Behr.
As for the wedding party, Francine wanted the most for her bridesmaids and didn’t want them in the same dresses. “I told them specifically, ‘Don’t worry about outshining the bride, outshine me, pick the most beautiful grand dress,” Francine explains. “Needless to say, the girls complemented her beautifully in an array of differing styles in bright summer colors. In turn, the florals, prints, and tablescapes matched in the season’s radiancy.
On August 19, 2023, guests took to their seats outside—just as the rain cleared—in splendid view of the château, before the bride graced the aisle arm-in-arm with her parents to “Something Good” by Julie Andrews. The couple’s best friend officiated the ceremony—a perfect fuse between sentimental and comical. “I felt really happy,” the bride remembers. “It was a surreal feeling seeing all of my favorite people in one place. I wasn’t nervous at all, I was just overcome with feelings of excitement and joy.”
As Francine was born in the Philippines and Aba shares West African and Jewish heritage, it was especially important to celebrate a blend of their cultures. “We featured the Filipino veil and cord tradition, which symbolizes the joining of two lives under God, and the Jewish breaking of the glass tradition, which symbolizes the confrontation of bad fortune immediately so that you can live the rest of your life with good fortune,” the bride notes.
Afterward, everyone dined on Michelin star French cuisine courtesy of Les Premices, while loved ones offered toasts atop the stairs overlooking the château grounds. The newlyweds cut the cake and espresso martinis were served. Then, guests loosened their ties, slipped on their dancing shoes, and headed inside, toward the dance floor. DJ Anthony of Mixology had everyone on their feet all night long. “I had so much fun dancing with Aba that night,” Francine smiles. “I didn’t want to take a break, even for a moment.”
