BETTE FRANKE had a good excuse for not being in New York this weekend for Fashion Week, the Dutch model was busy getting married. She posted a picture on her Instagram account showing her laughing as she posed with her flowergirls and her new husband, Ilja Cornelisz; a researcher in economics and education who is based in Amsterdam.
The couple married on Saturday, September 7 - the same day that they first met, and the date that her grandparents married - in their native Netherlands after a three-year engagement. The service was attended by close friends and family - including fellow models Romée Fight, Kim Noorda and Sophie Vlaming - and the special day was captured by her fashion photographer friend Marc de Groot.
"My wedding dress was beautiful; my sister Sanne Franke
made ​​the dress, which made it so special," Franke told Dutch Vogue. "We designed the skirt and two tops together." Franke teamed the dress with white pumps from Maison Martin Margiela and chose a wedding ring from Tiffany & Co; gold inlaid with diamonds.
After the party died down, the newlyweds spent the night outside together in a small tent - and as for a honeymoon?
"What better honeymoon could you ask for than fashion week?" she laughed as we caught up with her backstage at Vera Wang.
Franke made her catwalk debut in spring/summer 2006 and, although only 23 years old, has walked for almost every major fashion label since then - including Burberry Prorsum, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Balenciaga, Christian Dior - and has starred in campaigns for brands including Stella McCartney, Valentino and Yves Saint Laurent.