I’m pretty positive that every girl’s fantasy includes a destination wedding in Paris. I’m swooning just sitting here thinking about it and then I laid my eyes on the actual photographs by One and Only Paris Photography, and ladies and gentlemen, there was no going back. I am in complete and total wedding crush mode with this baby and you all are about to follow suit. Find every last gorgeous detail here!
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From the Bride…I began my wedding planning just like every other bride: looking at tons of wedding blogs and magazines; searching for inspiration. I had so many questions floating through my mind, “Do I want a big dress, or a fitted dress? What colors should I use? Where can we have the ceremony that is not going to put my parents into years and years of debt?” The only thing I knew for sure was that it was going to be HUGE. I come from an extremely large family, and of course I wanted to include every one of them. That was pretty much all I had locked down when I flew home to Louisiana, from Los Angeles, for Christmas.
The first thing on the agenda was the dress. I took all of the important women in my family shopping with me, and it turned out to be a huge success. Within two days I found the absolute dress of my dreams, and for a fourth of what I thought I was going to have to pay. I basically designed it myself. The dress and the sash came separately, but when I saw the sash hanging on the mannequin I knew it was the extra “pop” I needed to make the dress really stand out, and unique. We then deconstructed the sash (since it was originally brown velvet) and attached all of the beading to the black material, which I found on Ebay for crazy cheap. I instantly felt like Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. From that point on my vision of classic and elegant was clear. I wanted everything to be black and white, with a touch of pink in the flowers.
I was very overwhelmed with the planning, since it was going to be such a large group of people, and the prices of everything were adding up by the minute. I started to feel like I was getting lost. Then, I stumbled across an elopement in Paris and was instantly swept away by the beauty and the romance, and of course, the breathtaking pictures. I called my fiance then and there and said, this is what we are doing. My fiance thought it was a great idea! Since we both love to travel, and are very into French food, it was the perfect mix. Once that was decided, everything fell immediately into place. I have always been the type of person to do things a little differently, and anything with as much glamour as Paris is right up my alley. Plus, Paris fit right into my idea of a Carrie Bradshaw type wedding. After all, Big did go to Paris to profess his love on the season finale.
Our day ended up being more than I ever could have asked for. It was a true fairytale. Since my fiancee and I didn’t have a bunch of people to get ready with, we took the day in together. We got up extremely early and had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, walked around and took some pictures of our own, and just really embraced the day. I also got to Skype with my family a little, so they were able to see me in my dress and I was able to tell them I loved them right before I had to leave for the church. I really hope to inspire other brides, as I was inspired to take this route. Eloping may be a difficult decision at first, but in the end is one that I couldn’t be happier I made.
Photography: One and Only Paris Photography / Floral Design: Estelle Preston of Paris Haute Couture Florist / Cermony Location: The American Church in Paris / Hotel: Four Seasons George V/ Wedding Dress: Watters and Watters / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Bracelet: Lucia Bella