Two weeks out from her Provence wedding, set to take place in a magical chateau that has no address and is impossible to find on Google Maps, Phoebe Dynevor is sitting on a big secret. It’s her wedding dress. Her mother hasn’t seen it. Nor have her best friends. Stateside work commitments for Dynevor means that the Manchester arm of the bridal party (Phoebe is the daughter of actress Sally Dynevor and screenwriter Tim Dynevor) has been totally in the dark. But surely, they thought, there was only ever one designer in the running: Louis Vuitton artistic director of womenswear Nicolas Ghesquière. The Northerners were right.

“It’s really fun to have a secret that no one knows,” Dynevor says of dreaming up a look in which to marry fellow actor Cameron Fuller. “But it’s also kind of strange. I don’t have a second opinion – it’s just me and my stylist, Emma Morrison.” Judging by the sketches, secretly dispatched to British days before the south of France celebration, the big reveal will have been quite the mic drop. The final gown – the product of some 20 drawings sent back and forth between Ghesquière’s inner circle and Dynevor herself – is exquisite. Simple in silhouette, yet painstakingly ornate in terms of finish, the lace-trimmed, strapless gown, with its trailing neck scarf and cathedral-length silk veil, took some 600 hours to perfect.

The final sketch, after some 20 designs sent back and forth in secret.

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

“The journey was sort of crazy,” shares Dynevor. “Because I wasn’t sure how much control Nicolas wanted to have. I was very happy to put it in his hands, but when I realised that it would be a collaborative process, I was really excited and overwhelmed because I didn’t have a specific thing in mind.” With Morrison, who has outfitted the actor since her career blossomed post , holding her hand, the pair delved deep into Ghesquière’s archive, sending the “kind and generous and humble” designer references that fit the bride’s “flowy”, “effortless” brief.

When the final sketch hit her inbox, “I was thrilled,” she says. “It’s sort of everything I wanted without realising it.” But if Ghesquière and Morrison encouraged Dynevor to layer up the lace after the bride’s initial “as simple as possible” directive, each member of the power trio was happy to keep the second champagne-coloured look – “a ’90s Kate Moss slip dress” – wonderfully pared back. The backless design is Dynevor through and through. “I’ve always been drawn to that decade,” she explains. “I tried it on and thought, ‘I don’t know which dress I love more.’”

“The gown’s design is one of quiet essentiality, elegant and refined,” says the brand.

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

A wide lace border is enhanced with delicate sequin embroidery and features on the silk veil too.

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

If this all sounds like your average A-list bridal fairytale, you’re right. But Dynevor is open about why her reception look is another ceremony-appropriate gown, as opposed to the whisper of an after-party look one might expect. “I don’t like my legs,” she shares, before letting in on how her bridal beauty prep has been a complex process, involving over-the-counter formulas to keep a skin condition at bay. “But that’s a story for another day,” says the religious SkinCeuticals user. “Right now, I’m on it with my skin because I just want to be able to rock up and feel my best.” Make-up artist Jen Tioseco understood the minimal brief.

The Kate Moss-inspired reception look.

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

“I don’t know which dress I love more,” says Dynevor.

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

With Jessica McCormack dedicated to making the looks sparkle and the LV atelier responsible for crafting some “thankfully comfy” bridal heels, Dynevor outsourced everything else to British wedding planner Liz Linkleter. “It’s been a busy year for us,” Phoebe muses of her LA life with Cameron, whom she met at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. “I’m very excited, it will all be lovely.”