When Brendan Norton asked Zorina Akhund to his fraternity formal at Trinity College junior year, he didn’t know that the theme—Around The World, where each room was decorated as a different country—would foreshadow their eventual relationship. “Four years into dating, we backpacked around the world for a year,” Zorina says. “Living out of a backpack, we went to Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Philippines, Laos, South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and nearly all of Europe.” They kept a travel blog to keep friends and family updated and met dozens of friends along the way.
Post-world travel, Covid derailed Brendan’s plan to propose in France—he proposed back at Trinity College, instead—but, a few years later, they were able to host their wedding there. “We always wanted to get married in France,” Zorina says. “It’s where I grew up and a lot of my family is located.” After checking out venues across Provence and along the Riviera, they toured Château de Tourreau. “We had made our decision within five minutes of being there. There was a simple elegance to the venue. With every corner of the chateau unpredictable, it was consistently breathtaking.” They enlisted Empress Stationery to create a map of the venue and other artwork to feature in a sage invitation suite.
Of course, it would be a global affair. “Our wedding guests were from all over the globe; we had people flying in from the U.S., Indonesia, U.K., Spain, Canada, Pakistan, Abu Dhabi, and more,” Zorina says. “All of our guests had supported our adventures and were, in some ways, an essential part of our travel memories. We wanted to have them experience every aspect of the small villages in France where I grew up.”
Their welcome party was inspired by a French farmers’ market. “There were baskets of bread, different food stations, soft earth tones, and food and florals of the season used as decor,” Zorina explains. For the wedding day itself, they were inspired by French heritage with a theme of la ferme (the farm) meets modern minimalism.
Zorina’s search for the dress was more difficult. “I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like, but it took nine stores in two different states to finally find it,” she says. “I had been searching for that ‘this is it’ moment, and I felt it immediately when putting on the Mark Ingram dress.” She paired it with her grandmother’s pearl earrings, a pair of Stuart Weitzman slingbacks, and baby’s breath plucked from the gardens around the chateau and artfully arranged in her hair by Ylva Langenskiold.
Zorina’s bridesmaids created a garden of their own with mismatched blue, green, and floral dresses. “The girls were given an inspiration board, and most of them bought from V. Chapman,” Zorina says. “They looked beautiful against the chateau and scenery.”
On September 30, 2023, Zorina and her bridesmaids jumped in the pool, had a big group breakfast, sipped Champagne, and then danced while they got ready for the day ahead. “I’ve never felt more calm and excited,” she recalls. Meanwhile, Peonies Studio was setting the stage for an English garden–inspired ceremony.
A priest and a close friend from college served as dual officiants. “The ceremony was full of laughs, happiness, and a few silly moments,” Zorina says. After their first kiss, the newlyweds recessed out to Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams.”
The reception that followed was meant to feel like “a big, fun family dinner, rather than a formal affair,” Zorina says. Tables were set around the chateau’s courtyard with Appolonia linens, and each was named for a country the couple had traveled to.
“Every dish was handpicked, tried, debated, and presented with a great deal of thought,” Zorina said of her wedding menu. “We are big foodies, so we wanted each dish to be perfect.” There was Mediterranean ceviche, crispy lamb from Riez, and monkfish confit by Chef Frédéric Bernard Traiteur.
The newlyweds opened the dance floor with a first dance to Leon Bridges’s “Beyond,” then Zorina and her dad recreated the dance scene from Pulp Fiction to “You Never Can Tell.” A nine-piece band, Popcorn Factory, provided nonstop entertainment. “The drinks never stopped flowing—from martinis to wine to espresso martinis to Champagne towers and then, inevitably, shots—so you can imagine the dance floor was lively and wild!” Zorina says. “At one point, we had guests crowd surfing, breakdancing, DJing, and dancing on shoulders. It was perfect.”
The party raged until 4 a.m.—until 6 a.m. for some, who finished the night eating baguettes and cheese in the kitchen—but the weekend wasn’t over yet. The next day, Zorina and Brendan hosted their guests at a Slim Aarons–inspired pool party, complete with bright colors, whimsical florals, and giant flamingo floats. And then, their travels continued: The newlyweds hiked Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and went scuba diving in Mauritius and Seychelles.
