Mariana Weber, founder of lifestyle brand A Nantucket Summer, and Alexandre Favrot, a former professional tennis player and wine consultant, first met on a Nantucket tennis court in the summer of 2018. After two-and-a-half years together, Alex proposed during a trip to visit Mariana’s abuelita in Panama. With the help of her mother and grandmother, they convinced Mariana that they had to go to church for some type of service. This is the same church where her grandparents were married and where her father proposed to her mother and later also got married.
Mariana and Alex sat in the same pew where her father had proposed more than 30 years prior, and he started to play a compilation video of photos of the two of them from the past two-and-a-half years. When the soundtrack to the presentation (Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud”) stopped playing, Alex got down on one knee and asked Mariana to marry him.
Ideally, the couple would’ve wed in France, as the groom is French and the bride is fond of French culture and architecture but the pandemic’s travel restrictions posed a major obstacle. With a venue that had European charm in mind, planner Lacy Geary knew the two would love Sea Island for their winter nuptials. And to set the tone for the weekend, Lacy’s company Paper Birch Designs sent guests bottles of Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne in engraved boxes with calligraphy by Markey of Hatch Cove Designs for the save the dates.
To kick off the weekend, Mariana and Alex hosted the “Favrot Open Tennis Luncheon” as an ode to Alex’s former career and the locale of their first meeting. The bride-to-be’s fashion inspiration was Wimbledon, and she donned a Cinq à Sept blazer over a Max Mara look. Alex wore a Clemson polo, paying homage to his days as the captain of the university’s tennis team.
For the French-themed rehearsal dinner, Mariana went straight to Monique Lhuillier and found the perfect floral off-the-shoulder column dress. She paired the look with Dolce & Gabbana lace pumps. The welcome party followed with Mavy’s Patisserie—named after their young dog, Maverick. Guests were invited to make their own bouquets at the flower market that Lacy and florist Kelly Lenard created, before they made their way to the dessert display by pastry chef Ashley Cardona.
“Ever since I saw Princess Kate in her Sarah Burton dress on her wedding day, I knew I wanted something similar for my day,” Mariana shares. The bride decided quickly that she’d wear a Monique Lhuillier gown and fell in love with the Chantilly lace from one particular gown. Mariana ordered a custom version of the dress to add volume to the skirt and sleeves.
On the morning-of, Mariana got ready with Claudia Mejerle Rogers, who put simple faux flowers in her half up ‘do. She completed her bridal look with a simple veil and white mesh Manolo Blahnik Hangisi heels. Her “something borrowed” was a pair of Tiffany & Co. pearl earrings that her father had recently gifted to her mother for their 30th wedding anniversary.
Mariana’s maid of honor complemented her well in an off-white Costarellos gown, and the mother of the bride looked beautiful in a custom Charlotte Brody gown. The groom looked handsome in a Ralph Lauren tuxedo, Zegna shirt, and Tom Ford bow tie with an Hermés pocket square and cufflinks. He sharply completed his look with a Santos-Dumont watch by Cartier and Allen Edmonds shoes.
On February 19, 2022, 60-ish guests passed a sprawling floral arch with dusty blooms and greenery by Kelly Lenard to enter the chapel for the traditional ceremony. “One of my favorite things about the Sea Island Chapel is the walkway leading to the front doors—my dad and I had an extended aisle to walk down, and there was a special moment where only Alex could see us, as our guests didn’t quite have a view of us yet,” Mariana remembers. “I could see Alex at the end of the aisle and could see that he was crying—something he swore he wouldn’t do all the way up to the big day!”
The bride walked with her father down the aisle to “Dawn” by Jean‐Yves Thibaudet from Pride & Prejudice. “Along with it being an ode to my film studies background, the film is one of my favorites to watch with my parents for the cinematography, storyline, and the film score,” Mariana shares. “The ceremony felt surreal—after more than a year envisioning this moment, we were finally really living it!”
The reception was held in the Georgian Room, picked specifically for its French architecture. “One of our favorite parts of the evening was when we snuck in before everyone else and got to see what we had been designing with Lacy over the last year. Seeing the floral designs and table décor for the first time was magical, it was even better than we could have dreamed!”
After the delicious and decadent meal, the newlyweds cut their vanilla-raspberry wedding cake with Genoise, vanilla bean mouse, and raspberries in the alcove. Then, everyone hit the dance floor with entertainment from Steel Toe Stiletto.
Mariana and Alex had their first dance to “Mean to Me” by Brett Eldredge. As the reception wound down, the bride snuck away to change into her second look. For the after-party at Sea Island’s Sea Strike bowling lanes, Mariana opted for a ’20s-inspired sequin dress from Temperley London paired with Jimmy Choo pumps—later traded in for light blue bowling shoes, of course. To get to the fête, the happy couple hopped on the back of a golf cart, decorated with a sign that read, “Vive les Mariés.”
“Most of the events had some hint of French inspiration to honor Alex’s heritage, so we decided to go all-American for the after-party,” Mariana shares. The Will Ferrell movie Talladega Nights was playing on a big screen at the end of the lanes. “It had become an instant favorite film for Alex, [ever] since my family introduced it to him when we were first dating.” The newlyweds even had their own custom bowling balls, engraved with “Shake” and “Bake,” a nod to the Nascar comedy.
To say goodbye to loved ones at the Sunday brunch, the bride found a Zimmermann set and styled it with her Dior pumps and bag. Everyone enjoyed the breakfast buffet and Bellini bar before leaving Sea Island. Mariana concludes, “It was so nice to see everyone one more time before the weekend was over!”
