Latest news with #memory
BBC News
a day ago
- Health
- BBC News
Mum runs Bradford 10k in memory of toddler who died from epilepsy
A mother whose daughter died from a rare epilepsy syndrome is running Bradford 10k in her memory, 10 years after her Murphy, from Pudsey, will be joined by nine of her friends and family to run the race on Sunday, after completing the Manchester Marathon in Edie died in October 2015 after a seizure caused by hemiplegia Hemiconvulsion syndrome."It's so, so rare," says Ms Murphy. "When the doctor first spoke to us about it, they said that usually, unfortunately, when they have this seizure, because it can't be controlled, the child will likely pass away."So it's one of those things you don't know your child has until they have this seizure. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any testing or any other way to detect it."I only know one other family whose child has hemiplegia Hemiconvulsion syndrome, and we found that after Edie died and the family reached out to me from Australia." Edie's illness became apparent in April 2015 when she began experiencing febrile convulsions."Edie had a fever then a febrile convulsion in the April, as she had croup, and she had a really high temperature. In the October, she was a bit poorly again with a bit of a cold."The family were moving from Edinburgh to Yorkshire that weekend, and were preparing for the long drive when Edie had another seizure. "My husband went up to check on her and I just knew from the way that he shouted my name that something was wrong."I just knew. I don't know why, because it could have been multiple things. But how he sounded was how I had shouted him when she had the seizure the first time."The only way doctors were able to stop Edie's seizure was by inducing a coma. After five days Ms Murphy and her husband, Tom, were told she had hemiplegia Hemiconvulsion syndrome."They were never able to bring her out of the seizure," says Ms Murphy. "They tried to reduce the sedation but her body was just too damaged." Weeks later, Ms Murphy began fundraising for Edinburgh Children's Hospital charity and 10 years later the family has raised more than £35,000 for charities including Millie Wright Children's Charity and Epilepsy Action."When we had her funeral, we were sat with all our friends and they started saying, 'I'll do something' and we kind of grew this list," she says."So 2016 became the year of running because we did all the 10ks, but I kept adding things like half marathons and then we did the Yorkshire Marathon."It gave us a way to parent her, even though she wasn't here."We just needed something to focus on other than the fact she died and I liked it in a way because it gave people something to talk to us about."Running was also a way for Ms Murphy to help process her grief - and get some time to herself, as she was also raising her two other daughters, Annie and Eilidh."We used to go out for a run and put music on and it was half an hour to get away from everything and sometimes I'd be crying because a song would come on and I'd be thinking it's Edie's favourite song. "But then the next song would come on and I'd remember her dancing around the kitchen or getting the words slightly wrong."Now, when anybody thinks about us running, they think of Edie. So it was a positive something for her."The family is now raising awareness about hemiplegia Hemiconvulsion syndrome, as it was something they knew nothing about before Edie's diagnosis."I very naively thought there's a few types of epilepsy. We've spent a lot of time raising awareness of the hospital and they deserve every bit of it because they were amazing, but now I'd quite like to focus more on why she passed away," she says. Ms Murphy first did Bradford 10k in 2019, and has run every race event is organised by the charity Epilepsy Action, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2025. This year will also be special for Ms Murphy because she will be part of a group of 10 – all in specially printed T-shirts."These are all friends that I've made from Pudsey and so they've never met Edie," says Ms Murphy. "They've only known her through what we've shared."It means a lot to me that they want to get involved, but it's also a massive challenge for some of them because it's their first proper race and this is the whole reason they've started running." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Dive into the best literary fiction out now; GIRL, 1983 by Linn Ullmann, THE DIRECTOR by Daniel Kehlmann, ALLEGRO PASTEL by Leif Randt
Girl, 1983 is available now from the Mail Bookshop GIRL, 1983 by Linn Ullmann (Hamish Hamilton £18.99, 272pp) LINN Ullmann comes from impressive stock: she's the daughter of Liv Ullmann and the Swedish auteur Ingmar Bergman, and she wrote beautifully about both in her 2015 memoir Unquiet. She writes more directly about herself in this novelised work of memory, which pivots on an encounter between a 16-year-old girl (a barely disguised Ullmann) and a much older photographer in Paris in 1983. Sex took place, but Ullmann picks at the event like an angry sore, with her inability to remember precisely what happened as much the book's subject as the event itself. A startling, restless, discomforting piece of work that carefully teases apart rigid ideas about experience and truth, predator and victim. THE DIRECTOR by Daniel Kehlmann (Quercus £22, 352pp) THE Austrian filmmaker G.W. Pabst, acclaimed for Westfront 1918 (1930) and The Threepenny Opera (1931) has fallen from popular memory, but Daniel Kehlmann mines fascinating territory in this fictionalised biographical portrait of a communist-leaning artist, who found himself cosying up to the Nazis in order to keep his career afloat during the Second World War. Quite how Pabst regarded the propaganda films he produced is a floating question in this hallucinatory novel, which features walk-on parts for Greta Garbo and Louise Brooks (and a brilliantly chilling, loosely disguised Goebbels) alongside fictionalised aspects of Pabst's life (including a floundering, excruciatingly awful period in Hollywood). Throughout, Kehlmann sustains a pervading sickly sense of reality sliding perilously close to nightmare, which is quite possibly how the very private, principled Pabst came to regard his own life. ALLEGRO PASTEL by Leif Randt (Granta Magazine Editions £12.99, 320pp) 'JEROME didn't want to schedule too much during the day. He had noticed with relief very early on in their relationship that, like him, Tanja felt the strong need to regularly withdraw silently to her laptop.' I chose this quote by opening the book at random, but it sums up pretty well both the style and content of this lauded German novel about the relationship between a Berlin-based writer and a website designer living the painstakingly curated lives of your standard globalised millennial. The toneless deadpan sentences take on a strange comic energy as Randt details the relentless self-absorption of two people who paradoxically appear to have no meaningful inner life at all. Its tough to read, like being forced to stare for hours at an achingly po-faced, self-aware and extended Instagram post – no wonder it's being called a novel to capture the voice of a generation.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Digested week: Mum, Dad, Barry and Herbie the dog, the list of talking dead grows ever longer
late, I've been spending a lot of time talking to the dead. Or, to be more accurate, talking at them. The dead tend not to say much in reply. I haven't been seeing a medium. I find myself starting conversations with my mum. Mostly the ones we never had or never finished. Not just the ones that her Alzheimer's prevented us from having but the ones that were too difficult for us to have when she was not anxious, disturbed or confused. I'm not religious and I don't believe in life after death, but I would like to know that all was well between us. That we had said enough to one another to last an eternity, as her ashes lie next to my dad in a churchyard with breathtaking views of the South Downs. That she is now free of her illness and everything that troubled her. Mum's death has, bizarrely, brought my dad back to life. He has been dead for more than 25 years but I now chat to him regularly. Regretting that he has missed the best of me and my children. Regretting that he could never tell me about his experiences serving in the navy during the second world war. I often asked him while he was alive but he could never speak about it. The death count continues to rise. Today I learned that another good friend had died in his sleep. Barry could be stubborn, self-destructive and infuriating but he was also one of the warmest, most generous, talented and funny men you could meet. On holidays with him, he would without fail wait to the halfway point before declaring we had now 'broken the back of it'. That never failed to crack me up. My kind of guy. Now he really has broken the back of it and I miss him. I will add him to my list of the talking dead. I also regularly chat to Herbie. Less so about the great existential questions and more about how I navigate my life on a daily basis. What to do, when to do it. Just like I used to do when he was alive. I trusted him and he trusted me. And oddly, he's the only one of the dead who ever talks back to me. In dogs I find salvation. It's recess in parliament, so Westminster has been relatively quiet. Just a few low-key announcements from government ministers to keep the news cycle happy but nothing of any great importance. The only politician to attempt to break the silence has been Nigel Farage, who held a press conference today. He still hasn't got the hang of being an MP. He was away on holiday in France last week when parliament was still sitting, so had nothing to say on the trade deal with the EU. Or perhaps he planned it that way. Nige knows better than anyone that most people now reckon that Brexit has been at best a disappointment, so he is keen not to draw any attention to it. Anyway, Farage is back and keen to suck up some airtime. Normally Nige has nothing to say, except telling everyone how well Reform is going while pinning the blame for everything that is wrong with the country on immigrants and wokery. This time, he actually tried to make a speech that wasn't about foreigners but about wider Reform policy. And it could just have been the biggest miscalculation Farage has made in his political career. Here's hoping. Nige thought he was trying to appeal to Labour voters by promising an end to the two-child benefit cap and increasing the threshold for basic-rate income tax to £20,000. What he was really doing was making tax cuts and spending promises that totalled between £50bn and £80bn. And when he was asked by journalists how he was going to pay for this, Nige got predictably tetchy. He would tell us all in a year or so. Once he had worked it out on the back of his fag packet. But it would involve efficiency savings and reversing net 'stupid' zero. As the half-witted Dicky Tice likes to call the climate crisis. This was suicidal economics on a scale that made Liz Truss look almost sane. The emperor had just revealed himself. And he was wearing no clothes. It was probably the most Spursy finish to a season in the club's history. First, victory over Manchester United in Bilbao. A first European trophy in more than 40 years. A first trophy of any description in 17 years. For some fans, that alone is enough for all to be forgiven. Last gasp redemption. A season to remember. The end justifies everything. A final to be remembered and treasured. Even if the match itself was instantly forgettable. Two mediocre teams chasing the ball while having forgotten what to do with it. Just that Spurs were slightly less poor than United on the night. The single goal that decided the final was worthy of the game. A scrappy affair. Uefa credited the goal to Brennan Johnson, even though he didn't seem to get a lace to the ball. The decisive last touch appeared to come off the United defender Luke Shaw for an own goal. The only moment of quality was the remarkable goalline clearance by Spurs' Micky van de Ven. Still, glory is glory, and some fans are still celebrating. Bank the win etc. For others, me included, the enjoyment is tinged with scepticism. The season ended much as it had played out: with yet another home defeat in the Premier League. More a capitulation, than a loss. A 4-1 defeat to a Brighton side that had come to play football. We had come to while away 90 minutes before resuming the Europa League celebrations, at the same time cementing a 17th place finish. One above the relegation zone and four points adrift of 16th. The data showed that Spurs fans had paid more than fans from every other club to watch their side lose last season. There again, it's not the losing I mind. I quite enjoyed our relegation year in 1977. It's been the sense that no one but me was that bothered by our league form. I want my support not to be taken for granted. I want changes. A new manager. Time to say thanks but no thanks to Ange Postecoglou. It turned out the only club he knew how to beat was Manchester United, which he did four times. If only he could have worked out how to beat Ipswich and Leicester. We need new players. Ones with the ability to solve problems mid-game that the manager can't. Above all, I don't want to have to wait another 17 years for another trophy. I might not have that long. You should never overestimate the intelligence of the very rich. In Thailand there is a new fashion among the super-wealthy for acquiring lion cubs as pets. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have occurred to this brain-dead elite that lion cubs grow into adult lions, and that adult lions can't necessarily be trusted around the house. You can't sit them down in front of the TV all day, because before long they have switched channels to David Attenborough documentaries and are watching their relations tearing wildebeest apart in the Maasai Mara. And that kind of thing gives them ideas, and before you know it they are making themselves sandwiches from the remains of humans. So there comes a moment when the pet owners have the stunning revelation that maybe it wasn't a great idea to try to house-train a lion and they want to offload their miserable pets to a zoo. Or to someone even more half-witted than they are. Imagine the thought processes involved. Assuming there are any. We'll draw the line at a pet hippo because that's obviously not going to work – it won't fit in the bath – but a lion will make the perfect addition to family life. It can spend the afternoons in the crabapple tree and help itself to the neighbour's pet rabbit. What happened to thinking of what the animal needs rather than just your own narcissistic desires? We find ourselves petless for the first time in more than 40 years and the house feels empty. I miss Herbie terribly. He should be sitting next to me as I write. As it is, I only have his paw print for company. People ask if we are going to get another dog but it is just too soon to think about that. The queen may have had 10 days of mourning but Herbie deserves at least 10 months. Weirdly, I did have a dream in which a new dog featured. He was brown and white and had Herbie's blessing. Maybe next year. Time to announce the halfwit of the week. Step forward Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary and tireless campaigner to remove Kemi Badenoch as leader of the Tory party and replace her with himself. AKA Pratman. While all of his shadow cabinet colleagues were spending recess doing nothing except firing off the odd press statement to which no one paid any attention, Honest Bob put on his black and grey hooded one-piece to turn himself into a one-man vigilante on the London tube. Along with his very own Robin, who was there to film him, our caped crusader went to Stratford station to confront fare-dodgers and restore law and order to the capital's streets. Despite haranguing a few people, he didn't appear to make any citizen's arrests. Transport for London appeared unimpressed, pointing out that Pratman had broken laws of his own by filming on the tube network. But Honest Bob was undeterred. In next week's instalment, he hopes to tackle the city's crime wave by apprehending shoplifters and anyone caught working in a Turkish barber shop. Perhaps he might like to investigate a cold case rather closer to home. In 2020, a young Conservative housing minister was caught rushing through a planning permission to former pornographer, Richard Desmond, in order to save him a massive large tax bill. Even though the local council and departmental officials had recommended the permission be refused. Dirty Des was so thrilled with the junior minister that he made a donation to the Tory party. However, the planning permission was eventually rescinded after it was deemed to be 'unlawful because of apparent bias'. So who was this housing minister? None other than Pratman himself. Honest Bob. He wants to bang up offenders for dodging a £4.60 fare. But Tory donors are free to escape a £40m tax demand.
Forbes
4 days ago
- Health
- Forbes
2 Reasons Why Nostalgia Has A Unique Scent — By A Psychologist
Here's how your sense of smell holds the key to your most vivid and emotional memories. When the aroma of freshly baked cookies wafts through the air, suddenly, you're back in your grandmother's kitchen. You're a child once more, gazing at those golden treats in anticipation. This nostalgic journey is your brain's way of responding to the powerful connection between your sense of smell and your memory. Smell doesn't just evoke memories; it anchors them in emotion, linking past and present in a sensory flash. In a 2016 study published in Brain Sciences, author Rachel S. Herz highlights how smell is not only a powerful trigger for memory, but plays an essential role in enhancing our well-being. She found that smells linked to positive memories can boost positive emotions, reduce negative moods, curb cravings and lower stress, including markers of inflammation in the body. So, how does a familiar scent transport you decades into the past? Here are three reasons why smell is so deeply tied to memory and emotion, and why it's important to make the most of this connection. What makes smell so potent in triggering memory lies in its unique pathway to the brain. Unlike sight and sound, which can take a longer, more roundabout route to reach memory centers, smell has a direct passageway. In a prior study, Herz describes how different senses (smell, sight and sound) trigger memories and emotions. She found that smells, like campfire or fresh-cut grass, brought up more emotional and powerful memories than when the same cues were presented visually or through sound. Picture this — a high-speed train zooming past stations, heading straight for its destination. That's how your sense of smell directly works with the brain. The olfactory bulb, where scent signals are processed, sits close to the hippocampus and amygdala — the very regions responsible for memory and emotion. This proximity gives smell a VIP pass to your brain's most intimate spaces. Herz also explains that smell-induced memories are often vivid and emotionally charged. Think of it like this — while sight might be the photograph in your mind's eye, smell is the living, breathing experience that takes you back to the moment as if it were happening right now. Smell can resurrect entire chapters of your life with startling clarity. Imagine that your mind is a vast library, where memories gather dust on forgotten shelves. A specific smell acts like a librarian dusting off an old book, placing it in your hands before you even realize it's missing. A 2023 review suggests that certain flavors and smells can vividly transport us back to specific moments in our lives, even when other details have long been forgotten. Smells that are linked to childhood often have the ability to evoke powerful autobiographical memories that define your understanding of yourself today. This phenomenon is called the 'Proust Effect.' Researchers highlight how the Proust effect also creates a sense of connection with others and gives life more meaning, reawakening moments that have otherwise faded into obscurity. 'The 'Proust phenomenon' from the eponymous literary anecdote where Marcel Proust took a bite of madeleine biscuit that had been dipped in Linden tea and was suddenly transported to a long forgotten moment in his childhood, occurs when an odor triggers the recollection of a meaningful past personal episode,' Herz explains in her 2016 study. This sensory time travel is rooted in your brain's architecture. A 2012 study published in Neuropsychologia confirms how memories triggered by smells tend to be older, more emotional and feel more like time-travel compared to memories triggered by other senses. Memories triggered by smell come steeped in emotional layers. The smell of rain-soaked earth, known as petrichor, offers a perfect example of this idea. For some, it brings comfort and nostalgia, stirring up memories of quiet afternoons after a summer storm in their childhood. Whereas, for others, that same scent might carry a tinge of sadness, perhaps reminding them of a time they felt loss or isolation. This emotional potency isn't arbitrary. When your brain stores a memory, it doesn't just catalog the details — it renders the feelings too. It's likely that the more emotionally intense the experience, the more strongly the memory is imprinted. So, the next time a familiar scent suddenly brings back a memory, take a moment to appreciate it. Your brain is opening a door to the past, letting you revisit stories and emotions that might have been forgotten. Do you often feel nostalgic? Take this science-backed test to learn if you might benefit from being more grounded in the present: Nostalgia Scale
Vogue
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
The Wedding Day Fragrances Cool People (Lena! Ayesha! Ben! Paris!) Wore
Should you wear a scent on your wedding day? If you want to remember the day vividly for years to come, consider it. For Lena Dunham, writer, actor, director, producer, and 'nauseous girl' who doesn't 'usually wear perfume,' it was a fragrance oil her friend and makeup artist Amanda Grossman mixed up (interestingly, fashion designer Jackson Wiederhoft suggests a couple of drops of peppermint oil on the neck to stay cool during a summer wedding with a 'lovely' scent as a bonus for those that run hot). And for those that need some comfort, consider your everyday pick: So that he could 'feel as much normalcy as possible so I wouldn't get overwhelmed,' the actor, singer, and songwriter Ben Platt chose his go-to Tom Ford Grey Vetiver eau de parfum. Forever the entrepreneur of our generation, Paris Hilton made her own Love Rush scent for her wedding day, and now she tells Vogue that 'every time I wear it, I'm reminded of the pure bliss I felt.' Paris really has a point! Science says it's true since the regions of the brain that process smells and emotional memories are closely linked. While I write this on my own wedding anniversary, I wish I could pick up a bottle and be wafted back in time. As my sister-in-law texted, 'I think smell is the strongest memory-catcher and can conjure up thoughts so quickly.' Perhaps Guerlain perfumer Delphine Jelk could have bottled the bluebonnets that surrounded us: For her own wedding two decades ago, she designed a fragrance to mirror the 'massive bush of jasmine' she carried down the aisle. 'We had a party until five in the morning,' she remembers smelling the jasmine, sea salt, and musky notes as she danced with her husband all night. 'I wanted this fragrance to last.' Below, artists, entrepreneurs, musicians, and all-around stars share the scents they (and, sometimes, their partners!) really wore—and will never forget. Ayesha Curry, founder of Sweet July, married to Steph Curry 'When I picked Cartier's Baiser Volé for my wedding day, I loved the way the bottle looked, but back then it was my way of feeling luxurious without the Love bracelet price tag! All jokes aside, at that time I wanted to feel super feminine that day and embrace the girly girl side of me that never pops out. This has notes of lilies and orchids, which are uber feminine in nature.' Cartier Baiser Volé Eau de Parfum $188 NORDSTROM Lena Dunham, writer, actor, director, producer, and Vogue contributor, married to Luis Felber 'I don't usually wear perfume—other naturally nauseous girls will get it. Soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, moisturizer, SPF, night cream, texturizing spray—how many smells can one body hold? Plus, everyone else's smells??? But on my wedding day, I was with my longtime makeup artist and friend Amanda Grossman, who was at that point creating her own essential oil mix at home. She smells like heaven–a mix between a really airy spa and a cedar chest, two of my favorite vibes—and as I was hyperventilating (not with fear of marriage, but concern that people wouldn't enjoy the party!) she rolled her magical potion on all my pulse points. It's the only fragrance that grounds me and makes me feel more alert and less anxious (even my mom's longtime perfume, magic on her, somehow is all wrong when I spray it on me.) I was doing a lot of sweating and hugging and even outfit changing, and every single guest commented on the scent—which lasted until the wee hours. Lucky for us, she's finally bottled it: e11even Fragrance.' Ben Platt actor, singer, and songwriter, married to Noah Galvin 'I wore Tom Ford Grey Vetiver, like I do every day! I wanted to feel as much normalcy as possible, so I wouldn't get overwhelmed, so it was comforting to spritz myself the exact same way I have every day for almost a decade.' Tom Ford Grey Vetiver Eau de Parfum $240 NORDSTROM Photo Courtesy of 11 Media Paris Hilton, entrepreneur, philanthropist, recording artist, and DJ, married to Carter Reum 'Love Rush is the most personal fragrance I've created—it was made for my wedding day and holds all the memories of that magical moment. Every time I wear it, I'm reminded of the pure bliss I felt, and being able to share it with the world makes it even more unforgettable.' Paris Hilton Love Rush Eau de Parfum $40 $28 AMAZON Dustin Payseur, founder of Beach Fossils, married to Katie Garcia, owner of Bayonet Records Dustin: 'I wore Incense Avignon by Comme des Garçons. I went to Catholic school as a kid, and the smell of church makes me incredibly nostalgic. With frankincense and myrrh, the smell is smoky and sweet, it's serious and quite romantic. We aren't religious, and we didn't get married in a church, but the smell still felt appropriate. It's timeless.' Katie: 'I wore what was my 'signature' scent at the time, the Marc Jacobs classic perfume, which is now sadly discontinued. I loved that the main note in the perfume was gardenia. It held a lot of sentimental meaning for me. My abuelo Alberto used to care for a huge gardenia bush in his backyard when I was a kid. It felt familiar, and that's probably why I gravitated towards the scent in the first place. My abuelo passed away when I was a kid, so wearing a scent that reminded me of him felt like a nice way to honor his memory on our wedding day.' Comme Des Garcons Parfums Incense Avignon Eau de Toilette $120 SSENSE Batsheva Hay, fashion designer for Batsheva, married to Alexei Hay 'Fragrance is my fave accessory. For my wedding, I wore Une Rose by Frederic Malle [now called Rose Tonnerre]. It's a sexy, bold rose that felt really regal and sumptuous to me on that day. I wore my mother's wedding dress! It was a lace dress she bought in Mexico in the 70s. And I wore my grandmother's lace TABLECLOTH as a veil! Alexei wore Dior Eau Sauvage, which his father always wore. I love that scent so much!' Frédéric Malle Rose Tonnerre Parfum Spray $470 NORDSTROM Dior Eau Sauvage Eau de Toilette $130 DIOR Photo: Amy & Stuart Nina Westbrook, licensed marriage and family therapist, married to Russell Westbrook 'I chose a fragrance called Molecule 01. At the time, it was my first 'real adult' luxury fragrance. Every time I wore it, I got compliments, and I felt special knowing that the fragrance and I had created our own unique scent. It certainly made me feel like I was one of a kind on my special day. My husband and I at the time were obsessed with Barneys. We would spend a lot of our afternoons browsing, shopping, or dining there. Eventually, he went on to create a collaboration with Barneys, so I think it all paid off. One day, I was browsing the bottom level of the store, and a woman working one of the counters approached me and asked me to try this fragrance. It turned out to be Molecule 01. I remember the selling points being that it was a fragrance that was supposed to 'smell different on everyone,' and that it was (at the time) exclusively being sold there. I feel like they were at the forefront of the concept of fragrances that worked with your body's natural chemicals to produce your own unique scent. At least, that was the first time I'd heard of that. I was sold! From that day on, I can remember getting compliments and questions about what fragrance I was wearing, and that made me feel really special. 12 years later, I still wear the same fragrance, though I've added one extra to the rotation.' Molecule 01 Eau de Toilette $150 NORDSTROM Megan Louise, singer of Desire, married to Johnny Jewel 'You know this French girl always wears Chloe. I was wearing my Chloe on my wedding day (11 years ago!). We got married at a notary's office quickly during a 24-hour round trip to Montreal. Johnny had gotten a job in LA, and we had to move to the USA. I was a bit of a 90 Day Fiancé for a minute. I wore an emerald green Sando dress, and his wedding ring was Margela. Jackie was our maid of honor, probably wearing her favorite Gap dress. Johnny has always worn Terre D'Hermes, ever since I met him 17 years ago!' Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, married to Cole Bucy 'I wore Issey Miyake l'eau d'issey to my wedding. I was initially attracted to it because of its fresh crispness. As I have returned to it many times over the years, the hints of peonies and white roses remind me of being surrounded by my loved ones and, yes, flowers at my wedding almost 20 years ago. I wear a range of scents and am always trying new things, but on difficult days, I still find myself spraying a bit of this scent to ground me in the good times.' Issey Miyake L'Eau d'Issey Eau de Parfum $132 NORDSTROM Maria McManus, founder of her eponymous fashion label, married to Mark Gibson 'I got married in 2007, years before Instagram and the pressure of performative, photo-perfect weddings. My friend made my dress, I did my own hair and makeup, made my own flower bouquet, and wore Chanel Chance, as that was my go-to fragrance at that time. Now I am a devout wearer of Frama's Beratan.' Lais Ribeiro, model, married to Joakim Noah 'I wore Costa Brazil Aroma. The scent reminds me so much of Brazil. When I wear it, I can just close my eyes and feel the fresh smells of Rio de Janeiro in the summer. Joakim wore Jean Paul Gaultier. Since I met him, he has never wanted to change cologne.' Costa Brazil Aroma Eau de Parfum $198 BLUE MERCURY Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Eau de Toilette $98 SEPHORA Jonathan Simkhai, fashion designer for Simkhai, married to TJ Allers 'For our wedding, I layered Molecule 01 and Escentric 2, I love this brand because the scents are light and crisp, and Molecule 01 is said to be an aphrodisiac.' Lulu Prat, founder of Bodega Cakes, married to Ryan Naideau 'On the wedding day, I wore Diptyque's L'Ombre dans L'Eau. It's technically rose and blackcurrant, but to me it smells deeper and woodsier than that—like wildflowers in a forest. We got married upstate, on top of a hill, surrounded by trees, with the reception in an open-air pavilion. But going against the natural backdrop, the theme was full Vegas chapel fantasy: six-foot-tall rose sculptures, gold cupids, hearts everywhere. I loved that the perfume mirrored that mix—wild nature and big romantic drama. I didn't pick it to match the day—if anything, the day matched the perfume. Or really, it matched me: part bright pink and red Vegas fantasy, part laid back middle of nowhere woods. And our wedding was exactly that! My husband, Ryan, wore Mondo Mondo's Cowboy—another scent he wore a lot when we first started dating, and one that instantly takes me back to that time. It's earthy and warm, with notes like honeysuckle, leather, grass, and cedarwood—a mix that smells like sunbathing in the grass after a swim. It's playful and youthful, and to me, it captures the energy Ryan brings into our relationship. That was the feeling we wanted to create for the weekend, carefree, slightly chaotic, full of dancing and running around barefoot with our friend, and I love that his scent carried it into the day.' Azeeza Khan, designer of Azeeza, married to Rehan Khan 'I wore Ralph Lauren Romance… befitting for a Romance that has lasted 15 years, which is 100 years of marriage in this day and age. It was my 'college scent' and felt very nostalgic... I haven't actually smelled it in so long, I need to get a bottle! Rehan wore Dior Homme.' Victoria de La Fuente, co-founder of DOOMSCROLLR, married to Adam Ayers 'Fragrance-wise, I oscillate between two scent personalities: French Lover and Portrait of a Lady—it depends entirely on the mood du jour. If I'm feeling daring and need that extra lift, I'll layer a thin veil of Molecule 01, because a bit of pheromone magic never hurt anyone, right? For my wedding, I wore Portrait of a Lady layered with Molecule 01. It felt regal yet playful, sophisticated enough for vows but whimsical enough for a garden ceremony. The subtle addition of Molecule 01 added that perfect, quietly sexy touch. My husband, Adam, and I eloped at San Ysidro Ranch with just two of our closest friends. Adam went classic in Issey—clean, chic, timeless. His fragrance choice says everything about him: he's been loyal to that Issey perfume since his teenage years.' Frédéric Malle Portrait of a Lady Parfum Spray $295 NORDSTROM Molecule 01 Eau de Toilette $150 NORDSTROM Issey Miyake L'Eau d'Issey Eau de Toilette Spray $95 NORDSTROM Gia Kuan, founder of Gia Kuan Consulting, married to Anatoly Kirichenko 'I tend to mix and match my scents, but I think on my wedding, I was wearing a blend of an Aesop fragrance (Rozu) blended with a Comme des Garçons Hinoki one to lean into a floral woody scent. I want to say Anatoly was also wearing a CDG fragrance—he always wears it, it's the Comme 3 Eau de Toilette.'
