Ah Paris. It’s hard not to love every inch of its historic streets. I, for one, might be the city’s biggest fan, and it’s not really hard to convince people why I love it so. This couple? They totally get my love affair with the chic city, and decided to ask the lovelies at One and Only Paris Photography to snap up some shots as they enjoy all the Parisian pretty which eventually turned in an engagement session. Which is just genius (nice work to the Mister). The result is a gallery of precious Paris memories for them to cherish forever and ever. And it’s simply stunning. See it all here.

 

From the Bride… For James and me, a trip to Europe never feels quite right without at least a couple days in Paris. We have spent quite a lot of time together in the City of Light. One of the unfortunate parts of traveling as a twosome is that even though we’ve explored the city many times, we have very few photos of the two of us together. So when we started planning our latest trip to Europe, we thought that it would be a fantastic opportunity to have some beautiful photos taken in the city that has become like a second home to us. As an event planner, I spend a great deal of time keeping up with the latest event trends and became an instant fan of One and Only Paris Photography. Naturally, when we decided to have photos taken in Paris, I knew exactly who to call.

With the invaluable help of my good friend and stylist Sima Kumar, we focused on a palette of rich colors to pair with the cool fall tones we expected to find in the ile-de-France in late October. As my partner and I were not married or engaged, I specifically stayed away from any clothing that was white or could be considered “bridal.” Little did I know that our photo shoot would actually turn out to be our engagement session!

At the start of our seven-city trip, my now-fiancé, with the help of our two dearest friends, proposed to me on a private sailboat on the River Thames in London. Five Italian cities later, and we were back in Paris. We were blessed with beautiful and unseasonably warm weather on the day of our photo shoot. One of our favorite moments that day was when we were standing in the gardens behind Notre Dame de Paris and a large group of tourists walked into the park and started taking photos of us instead of the iconic cathedral behind us. All the while, the duo from One and Only Paris kept us relaxed and focused on each other. Audrey and Anthony were phenomenal to work with.  Having your photo taken can be an awkward experience, but with the two of them, it felt like we were exploring the streets of Paris with two old friends. Audrey and Anthony were excellent at giving us direction and ensuring our photos were a natural and honest representation of our relationship with each other in the that city we love so much.

Wedding Photography: One and Only Paris Photography / Location: Paris, France / Hair: Sonja Stein / Makeup: Sanni Sorma

If you don’t already have plans for your honeymoon, I suggest you take a look at this masterpiece of a photo session by the uber-talented French Grey Photography.  Because if ever there was a honeymoon shoot to completely sell you on the City of Lights, it’s this gorgeous Canadian duo, that amazing Brose dress and the breathtaking Eiffel Tower backdrop that makes every moment look straight from the big screen.  Join me in the gallery for all of the pretty… and then start packing.

 

From French Grey Photography… I recently had an early morning honeymoon shoot with a really sweet Canadian couple in Paris, France.

Photography: French Grey Photography / Location: Paris, France / Bride’s Dress: Brose

This simple + beautiful French wedding from Coralie Polack Photography is accompanied by the sweetest love story I ever did hear! Boy meets girl at 17, boy asks girl to marry him on a birthday trip to Morocco (12 years later!) and adorable couple finally become a Mr. and Mrs. in a DIY-inspired celebration at Le Château des Selves. See the rest of this real-life fairy tale unfold in the full gallery!

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From Coralie Polack Photography… Annabelle and Cedric met 12 years ago; they were only 17 then. Cedric asked her to marry him on her birthday, in Morocco. They decided to seal their union in a little chapel in Seillans, a small Provençal village. They finished the evening in the Château des Selves, a big winery in the region. With its olive trees, vines, lack of a time limit, an outside space for the cocktail and an indoor space for dinner, this place met all the couple’s requirements.

From the Bride… We followed the advice of our married friends and organized a maximum of things in advance to ensure that the wedding took place in the best possible conditions. We delegated the tasks we would not be able to handle to our sisters and best men, and everything went well. Everyone had only some little things to do, and it enabled us to fully enjoy the day.

We wanted our marriage to reflect us, and so we decided to do everything by ourselves. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it. We wanted the room to look like an indoor garden: lanterns and flowers were the main elements of our decor. To reduce costs, we made the lanterns ourselves out of yogurt cups and wire, and we were really satisfied of the result. Our table decorations were essentially made with salvaged materials: tin cans, jelly pots, bottles, watering cans, and buckets that we had picked up in our friends’ and family’s attics. Everyone was asking why we needed all this old stuff, but the result was great! Finally, my dream car is an old Fiat 500, and Marine’s parents (my best man) said we could borrow theirs! Unfortunately, it broke down on the way to Seillans from Cannes … but it finally started again on the day before the wedding. Phew!

Wedding Photography: Coralie Polack Photography / Reception: Le Château des Selves in Seillans, Provence, France / Floral Design: Fayence Fleurs / Catering: Les Deux Toques / Wedding Announcement: Valentin Durand / Musicians: Djalamichto Quartet / DJ: PAD / Wedding Dress: Pronuptia / Hair + Makeup: Art Metal Coiffure / Groom’s Attire: Azzaro + Façonnable