For the first time in 30 years, a wedding has taken place inside Notre-Dame de Paris. Martin Lorentz, 29, a carpenter who spent three years helping rebuild the cathedral after the devastating 2019 fire, married his fiancée Jade on October 25 beneath the newly restored Gothic vaults. The ceremony was the first wedding held at Notre-Dame since 1995. Weddings at the cathedral are extremely rare. Because Notre-Dame is not a parish church, it normally does not host private ceremonies. Only the Archbishop of Paris can authorize a wedding there, and such exceptions have been granted only a handful of times in its 860-year history. Archbishop Laurent Ulrich approved the ceremony as a one-time exception in honor of the workers who helped restore the 12th-century monument after the blaze destroyed its roof and spire. About 500 guests attended the Mass, most of them fellow artisans and restorers who worked on the reconstruction. When the newlyweds exited the cathedral, dozens of carpenters formed an honor guard, raising their axes in tribute. Lorentz, who hand-cut oak beams using traditional medieval methods, described the day as “the happiest day of my life.” Notre-Dame reopened to the public in December 2024 after years of restoration, marking a major moment in the cathedral’s long history.