Tradition, a Touching Tribute & Kid Chaos: Inside Brad and Angelina’s Wedding Ceremony

Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue? 

When Brad Pitt and Angelina Joliequietly tied the knot on Aug. 23, those time-honored elements all made appearances in one way or another. 

“Old” was more than covered by the ancient stone chapel at Château Miraval, the family’s estate in Correns, France. 

Other “old” touches: The 20 assembled guests hummed the traditional processional tune “Here Comes the Bride” as Jolie made her entrance – and the groom didn’t get his first glimpse of Jolie’s one-of-a-kind wedding gown until she walked down the aisle on the arms of eldest sons Maddox, 13, and Pax, 10. 



“Brad didn’t see the dress until the moment of the wedding,” Jolie, 39, tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s issue, which features the family’s wedding album. 

There was also plenty of “new,” including the couple’s complementary wedding bands, designed by longtime friend and jeweler Robert Procop and carried by ring bearers Shiloh, 8, and Knox, 6. At one point in the ceremony, a ring was dropped, prompting giggles from the guests. 

The bride and groom’s vows were also “new” – and penned by their six kids. 

“The children wrote vows and asked us to make promises to each other,” Jolie says. “It was very sweet what they came up with.” 

Jolie donned “something borrowed” by wearing a flower ring on her right index finger that formerly belonged to her mother, the late Marcheline Bertrand. And Pitt, too, wore “something borrowed” – a tie from one of his sons, on loan after he forgot to pack his own. 

As for “something blue,” Jolie’s one-of-a-kind gown and veil were filled with a rainbow’s worth of colors in designs drawn by the kids and hand-stitched by close friend and Atelier Versace master tailor Luigi Massi. 

• Reporting by MARY GREEN

For Brad and Angelina’s complete wedding album, all the details of their big day and more of the couple’s interview, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Wednesday