WeddingLight Events – Elope to Paris

Tag: paris

  • Wedding Venue Spotlight: Restaurant La Fontaine Gaillon

    As Paris wedding planners, we are always thrilled to find new places in town to host a perfect destination wedding. We went to check out La Fontaine Gaillon, a venue recently used by our California friends at No Worries Events for a destination wedding they organised in Paris. We love that the establishment offers the unique combination of a beautiful terrace to conduct a ceremony and lovely private rooms in which to host the reception. La Fontaine Gaillon opened as a restaurant in 2003 and is owned by none other than the famous French actor, Gerard Depardieu. His vision was to create an intimate space where clients would feel truly at home, and that is certainly what he has achieved. The mansion also has a rich history having had many royal owners in its time; and the fountain was restored in 1928 by Visconti (famed for being the architect of Napoleons tomb at the Invalides). 

    The venue is situated in the heart of Paris between Opera and Palais Royal, tucked away in Place Augustine. The fountain is set into the wall of the historic mansion creating a beautiful backdrop to saying “I do.” Ceremonies can take place on the terrace, which holds 30-40 people, between 5 and 6pm, Monday through Friday.

    Guests can then move on to dine in your chosen room up until 11:30pm. Aside from the Italian terrace there are 5 private rooms each with a different ambiance and capacity. The smallest private room is the “Empire” which holds up to 6 people; and the largest is the “Régence” which holds up to 30. Renting a room ranges in price from 30 euros – 120 euros depending on which size you choose.  

    Private Room Victorien holds 4-10 guests
    Private Room Michodiere holds 8-16 guests

    Source: www.zagot.com

    This makes it the perfect venue to host a reception no matter how many guests you have.  The rooms are full of character with intricately patterned walls and chandeliers creating a regal feel. Smaller rooms allow guests to sit around a single table in complete privacy truly creating a feeling of being at home. Being able to host the ceremony and reception together in the same venue provides huge advantages in having a relaxed day in which guests can enjoy. The warm and welcoming atmosphere adds to this feeling of serenity. Floral decorations can also be arranged with their local florist “Un Jardin Imaginaire”, to personalise the space and complete your big day.

     

     

    Private Room Régence holds 17-30 guests


    La Fontaine Gaillon is passionate about serving genuine traditional cuisine and the menu changes according to season and produce available each day. It is designing the menu in this way which allows them to create exceptional dishes, they are also therefore very adaptable catering to all dietary requirements and tastes. For your reception you can choose either a 3 course menu priced at 58 euros per person, or a 5 course menu for 110 euros per person. Typical dishes include Roasted Filet of John Dory, and Entrecote Black Angus in Béarnaise Sauce; with deserts such as strawberries in Anjou wine. A truly delicious selection to choose from.  Their wine and champagne list is also excellent with 150 choices from small local vineyards and some more exotic choices from Morocco and Sicily.

    We hope this combination of luxury cuisine, beautiful surroundings and history will inspire one of you to choose  La Fontaine Gaillon  as your destination wedding venue in Paris soon!

     

  • Paris Elopement: Tara & Michael from Illinois, USA

    The lovely Tara and Michael recently eloped to Paris. They had an outdoor ceremony at the Park Monceau; one of our favorite public parks in Paris. If you are considering an elopement in Paris and are looking for the perfect location for your ceremony, you may want to read one of our previous blog posts on some of the best locations for a Paris elopement.

    Of course there are numerous gorgeous places one might choose. Some are quite famous such as those around the Eiffel tower; others are more quaint  and charming, tucked away on a hidden street or a lovely boutique hotel’s courtyard. It is really all up to you and as a wedding planner, we are here to help, guide and advise.

    The time of the day is an important factor to consider, firstly in terms of lighting for the photographs,  and secondly simply because with spring comes the tourist season. Some locations might get quite crowded with tourists and people passing by. The French love brides, and will stop to watch and satisfy their curiosity! You might even get a horde of Chinese tourists gathering around with their cameras and iphones if they notice that a wedding ceremony is taking place … We saw this happening a few time during a ceremony at the Park Jean XXIII right behind Notre Dame.  Personally I think it is quite fun and part of the experience of getting married out in the streets of Paris. However if you are looking for somewhere quiet and discrete while you exchange you vows, choose your location carefully!

    Every couple who decides to  plan their wedding and elopement with us have different ideas for their very special day. This is why we customize our wedding planning services to everyone’s individual  dreams. Our clients are unique; our services are as well.

    You can view more of the photos of this beautiful elopement on Paris wedding photographer WeddingLight’s blog. If you have any questions about getting married in Paris, we would be more than happy to help out. 

    Photography by WeddingLight Photography
    English Speaking Photographer in Paris

  • WLE Meets: Professional Hairstylist, Muriel

    We met up with the lovely Muriel, our favorite  hairstylist, to get her expert advice on bridal hair for our destination brides in Paris. She recently worked with one of our clients at the Shangri La hotel; creating a different hair style for the bride and each of her three best friends. Despite never having met any of these lovely women from New York City before, the results exceeded all expectation. Everyone was thrilled with her work!

    We love Muriel because not only is she an amazing stylist but also extremely fun to work with. She is also very flexible and calm under pressure – what more could you ask for? Q. Tell us a little about your career: I’ve had a long and interesting career, I worked at the Ritz for 15 years styling VIP clients including members of royal families.  I style clients hair for many different occasions but I really love styling hair for weddings, and making sure the bride feels beautiful on her big day.

    Q. Are there classic wedding hair styles that never go out of fashion? The chignon will always be the most classic wedding style, having the hair up shows off the dress and gives a beautiful formal look. When I started as a hair stylist there weren’t many people specializing in bridal hair but chignons quickly became the staple look on the market.

    Q. Are there any popular trends right now? Young girls are much more interested in fashion now so they ask for a variety of different styles. The chignon is still popular but becoming more undone, people are also experimenting with more intricate ways of creating it and adding different accessories. More brides with long hair are also wearing their hair down in loose curls; I’d say the general trend over the past 5-6 years has been towards a messier less structured look.

    Q. Do you have any advice for future brides? The dress is the most important element; you need to know exactly what you’re wearing before you can think about how you want to style your hair. It’s important to choose something which is in keeping with your look and will show off the dress. Also try it out in plenty of time before the big day so you know everything will go perfectly. One time a stylist hadn’t fixed a chignon properly and the bride’s hair fell down as she was leaving the church which was a disaster. Make sure you have extra hair spray and clips to keep the style perfect for photos in all weather conditions.

    Q. How many trials does it take before getting a brides hair perfect? When I started out brides were generally happy with their hair the first time, but nowadays it can take up to 4 or 5 trials. That’s why it’s so important to practice far in advance. You should know yourself, and have an idea of how many times you think you’ll want to try before you’re completely satisfied.

    Q. Is there a big difference between doing French and American Weddings? I think there is a very noticeable difference between French and American weddings. Americans are much more ceremonious than the French which I like. I’ll do the hair for the whole wedding party and it gives a harmony to the overall look.

    Q. How do you differentiate your service from other hairstylists? I have years of experience in doing weddings, I know what brides want and can create a chignon without thinking. Even though I’ve been around a while I also keep up to date with new trends, and tailor the look  to exactly what the bride wants. There are a lot of stylists doing bridal hair now though which can make it difficult for clients as they have so many options and decisions to make.

    Photography by WeddingLight Photography
    English Speaking Photographer in Paris

  • Paris Celebration: Sara & Zaid from New Zealand

    Yet another beautiful elopement in Paris for a couple flying in all the way from New Zealand with their closest family members. Sara and Zaid had celebrated their wedding in New Zealand a few weeks prior to their arrival in Paris. However because of their  love for Paris they wanted to do something special in the city of lights as well. Our WeddingLight English speaking photographer in Paris took them around town for a fun photo shoot. They had diner at ” the Zuriand by Noura ” the restaurant on the last floor of the Arab institute with a killer view over the seine and Notre Dame at night.
    Marco from WeddingLight did a very sweet video of the afternoon as well. Here are a few of the photos of their elopement and more on the WeddingLight website.

    ELOPEMENT Video by WeddingLight Paris wedding videographer

  • Paris Elopement: Irena & Nikola from Serbia

    We planned an elopement for Irena and Nikola in Paris a few days ago. Olivier from WeddingLight posted some of the photos on the blog already so here is a little snippet of the wedding day.

    They flew in from Serbia to get married at the Serbian embassy in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. Olivier followed them around afterwards to document their special day with Eric, their driver and his classic automobile.

    We have just received a few words from our couple and couldn’t wait to share some of the images with all of you:

    From our couple: “Thank you both for putting so much effort and helping us in having a great wedding day in Paris.
    We appreciate all your support and planning for our wedding in Paris. We were not an easy couple, we know, and appreciate all your flexibility and patience in arranging everything according to our wishes. And Olivier, we looked at all the photos and they are really great! Although we were in a rush and delayed from the beginning, you’ve managed to put together quite some nice photos. The places we visited are really nice and we liked them a lot. Once again, thank you both for all your efforts and we might see each other on some other occasions in the future! 

    You can see more photos on the WeddingLight Photography blog.