For many women, an intimate fall wedding in the South of France would have all the trappings of a fairy tale, down to the gorgeous gown. But not for Sonia Joly. When the humanitarian worker started planning her November 2017 marriage in Cannes, she was determined to keep the celebration —and the outfit — as true to her low-key personal style as possible.
“I knew I wanted to wear something that was white, but I didn’t want a dress, that was for sure,” remembers the 28-year-old, who currently lives in Libya. “I don’t wear princess dresses to my everyday work, and I don’t think my husband has ever seen me in a princess dress.”
Having dismissed the idea of a gown, Joly quietly contemplated alternatives.
“I thought I wanted something a bit silky, something for hot weather,” she says. “That’s how I had this idea of wearing pajamas.”
On her wedding day, the bride walked down the aisle in a set of $390 ivory silk pajamas from the Ukrainian “walking sleepwear” brand Sleeper, which she discovered on Instagram.
She bought a size extra-large, then had them tailored for a perfect fit, dressing up the dreamy pants and top with more conventionally glamorous accessories: studded Jimmy Choo pumps and vintage Christian Lacroix chandelier earrings.
“They were beautiful pajamas,” Joly says, fondly. “It was exactly what I wanted to wear.”
Asya Varetsa, who co-founded Sleeper with her friend Kate Zubarieva in 2014, confesses she was a bit “surprised” when she first saw Joly’s wedding photos. Still, the 27-year-old New York-based designer, who’s not married, says she considers the bold bride a kindred spirit: “I can also see myself wanting to get married in pajamas.”
Since Joly’s wedding, Varetsa says a few other brides have tied the knot in Sleeper’s offerings, which range from sleepwear-inspired — a silk, off-the-shoulder frock that resembles a Victorian nightgown — to undeniably bed-friendly.
“We’re talking about more casual, millennial weddings, not a big, big celebration,” Varetsa says. She also points out that the woman who wears pajamas to her wedding is making a definitive statement that she’s the “anti-bridezilla,” or, as she puts it: “Yes, I’m feeling comfortable, I’m wearing pajamas for my big day and I don’t care if anyone judges me.”
Glamorous white pajamas from bridal brand Houghton.HoughtonComfort is now a major consideration for modern brides-to-be, says NYC-based wedding-wear designer Katharine Polk.
“Our clients really wanted to be able to move and dance,” says Polk, who shuttered her 7-year-old bridal line Houghton earlier this year and is currently consulting for other brands.
“When I was in fittings, they would throw their hands up, and make sure they weren’t falling out of the pieces and that they could really dance and get crazy in their looks.”
Even when brides crave the experience of wearing a ballgown, designer Danielle Frankel says it’s becoming quite common for women to purchase something more “cozy” for after the ceremony.
“These days, so many women want to have a serious moment in a more formal look, and then change into something that’s more free and forgiving,” Frankel says.
Ease in her clothing was crucial to Joly, who celebrated her nuptials with round after round of pétanque: a popular French ball-tossing game, similar to bocce.
“It was amazing being so comfortable during the day, being able to play pétanque, to move around. It was the perfect outfit.”
Although Joly admits a few people in her life — including her mom, and her maid-of-honor — were “super disappointed” that she didn’t bring them along for a grand, say-yes-to-the-dress shopping day, she knows that her husband appreciated her dressed-down bridal look.
“He found it quite funny,” she says. “But I think he actually really liked it.”
