Elle Chody and Jack Paul have a shared passion for the mountains: The couple first met in 2009, when they were both attending a skiing program in Switzerland during eighth grade. “Jack was already a confident and attractive teenager, while I sported braces–colored orange and black for Halloween that I couldn’t change in time for the program,” Elle remembers. “Although Jack and I weren’t a couple then—we were quite young after all—the friendships we forged there remain some of the most cherished in our lives.”
The two reconnected in November 2018 in Mexico, while both of their families were there on Thanksgiving vacation. “I was having dinner at Flora Farms with my family and a few friends,” Elle explains. “And Jack walked in and saw me—he asked his little sister Caroline, ‘Is that Elle?’ and then said you must come with me to say hi.’”
Elle and Jack hadn’t seen each other since 2009—nor did they follow each other on social media. He asked if she lived in New York (she did), and told her that he did as well. “As he returned to his table across the restaurant, a family friend remarked, ‘That’s your husband!’” Elle recalls. “I laughed, considering I was only 22 at the time.”
Coincidentally, as Jack sat down at his table, his father commented, “Is that the future Mrs. Paul?!”
Two days later, they went on their first date in New York City. “I cannot imagine my life if he hadn’t come up to our table—full of eight women—to say hello,” Elle admits.
Jack proposed on January 13, 2023, at the same restaurant where they reconnected five years prior. “It was a very special full-circle moment for us,” Elle says. Their wedding was on July 13 (ironically, it’s the couple’s lucky number) in Luzern, Switzerland. “We were getting married on July 13, we were engaged on January 13, and my birthday is May 13,” Jack says.
The Bürgenstock Resort with its stunning mountains, lake views, and skiing felt like the perfect venue for the couple, and Elizabeth Slossberg of EKS Events oversaw the planning. The bride’s vision was centered on the natural beauty of Luzern, channeling the energy of friends and family, and of course, the food, the wine, and the music. “Elizabeth, Caroline, Lindsey, and the rest of the EKS Events team handled any and every challenge that comes with planning a destination wedding with grace and professionalism,” Elle says. “Words can never express my gratitude and love for them.” For help on the fashion front, Elle enlisted stylists Carrie Goldberg and Lex Alexandris. “The queens!” she says. “They are everything. I had the best time working with them and honestly wish they were guests at the wedding—they truly are incredible humans, incredibly talented, and are incredible friends.”