  We derive a rigorous theory of the interaction between photons and spatially
extended excitons confined in quantum dots in inhomogeneous photonic materials.
We show that, beyond the dipole approximation, the radiative decay rate is
proportional to a non-local interaction function, which describes the
interaction between light and spatially extended excitons. In this regime,
light and matter degrees of freedom cannot be separated and a complex interplay
between the nanostructured optical environment and the exciton envelope
function emerges. We illustrate this by specific examples and derive a series
of important analytical relations, which are useful for applying the formalism
to practical problems. In the dipole limit, the decay rate is proportional to
the projected local density of optical states and we obtain the strong and weak
confinement regimes as special cases.
