Genevieve Reavis had been imagining her wedding dress long before there was a wedding to plan. “I had an idea in my head since I was eight years old,” she says. “Of course, it’s evolved over the years, but I’ve always come back to the same inspirations: Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy in the film Sabrina, and Grace Kelly.” One of ten siblings and fifth in the birth order, she also wanted to pay homage to the brides that came before her - notably, her mum and sisters.
Genevieve and Andre first met at university in the US. “Andre was friends with my older brother, and was in his fraternity,” she remembers. “I had the biggest crush on him, but he was pretty off limits. We didn’t have anything romantic until we were older, when we reunited at my brother’s wedding in 2021. By then I had his approval!”
Their relationship was initially long-distance, between New York and Boston, before both moved to the UK: Andre in 2022, Genevieve in 2023. In January 2025, they took a weekend trip to the Cotswolds. “The idea was that because we hadn’t spent Christmas or New Year’s together that year due to being with our families, we would have this special trip,” she says. “Then on the second day, during a really long, chilly, rainy walk, he proposed in the middle of nowhere. It was exactly what I wanted. I don’t think there was even a squirrel as a witness!”
For their reception, the couple wanted a combination of London convenience and green space - something that Kew Gardens offered in abundance. “We had people travelling from abroad, and we didn’t want them to have to travel to London, then out of the city again somewhere else,” Genevieve explains. “But the only issue was, Kew was booked for years, it was crazy.”
Their wedding planner called every week until a date became available. Two hours later, they’d booked it: 30th May 2026.
