Paris Elopement

Sep 10, 2021

To start off, what is elopement? If you are passionate about an extremely romantic moment for you and your loved ones and don’t want to make a big wedding – it’s a great idea to get off from your town to somewhere like Paris and make your dreams come true! Paris Elopement is when the most important day of your lives go as you want, it is adventures that hold you together for years to come.

Congratulations, you are engaged! Don’t want a big wedding? here is why you should Elope in Paris!

Elopement ceremony is a very intimate moment, a moment that you share with your fiancé without many guests. You can invite only the most important friends and your family. If organizing a big wedding is not your passion, even a destination one, then France is the place where you can make your romantic adventure.

Why Elope in Paris?

It is very exciting to get married in Paris, but prepare your elopement is not as easy as it is from the first look. My small guide helps you to plan small or big things on that day. Whether you decide to go to Paris with just your love or bring some close family and friends, remember that in the end, the wedding day is about celebrating together with your love.

Paris is truly a capital city of love. There are so many places where you can have your ceremony and you can’t find another city that fits more. Thanks to it charming scenery, cozy streets and elegant architecture around. It is a dream experience to elope in Paris.

Legal Part of Paris Elopement

The first thing that came into the mind, is “If it’s legal to get married in Paris?”, and the answer is yes! However, there are some things that you have to note:

– French civil authority in a town hall is only a place that can accept civil marriage by the French law.

– To have a civil ceremony in France, you have to live for at least 40 days before preceding the marriage.

– If you want a religious ceremony in France – the priest or minister will ask you for a certificate that was delivered by the French authorities.

Because of the French law, most couples that come from abroad and have their civil ceremony in their country and then have just a “symbolic” wedding ceremony in France performed by Paris officiant or celebrant. Paris elopement always about you two together and consist of a symbolic marriage and photo session around the city.

My Fairytale Paris elopement – what do I need for it?

Elopement is a dream day for a couple who don’t want to stress a week before the wedding and on the wedding day. But still, you need to make some preparations before, hire the right vendors, make a list of guests you want to invite, decide about the place where you want to say “yes!” and much more.

Here are the top 11 things to consider before you start to organize your elopement in Paris:

01. Decide about season

Paris is romantic at any time of the year. But based on the season and weather condition you can choose the place for your ceremony. If you want to hold your ceremony at the Eiffel Tower, you should better to choose off-season dates, for example, autumn or spring where there are not so many tourists around. For the summer, you can choose nice gardens or make a wedding ceremony in some of the Parisian castles.

02. Elopement Guest List

If you decide to elope not because you have a lot of friends and a huge family, but because you want to skip planning a big event and celebrate this moment only together. So, even if it will be just for you too, some close friends and family are more than welcome. You have to keep your guest list short to make a feeling of an intimate wedding, but if you decide to make a big list of friends and family, then you can call this destination wedding. Make sure you have not more than 10 guests invited.

03. Don’t forget your Wedding Rings and Vows

Either you have your civil ceremony before the wedding in Paris or after, you need to bring your rings at elopement too as well, as to write vows that you will be telling your love. As it will be an intimate moment you can be creative and write everything you want to tell her or him.

04. How to find a vendor for Paris Elopement?

Should I hire Paris Elopement planner or not? – this will be a question when you start your preparation work. If you are a strong person, love to plan, do research – then you can plan everything by yourself, but make sure you will ask a friend to help you with everything on the wedding day, as it might be hard to follow your timeline and idea without help.

Here is a checklist of must-have things to find for the Paris elopement:

– Celebrant or Officiant
– Makeup and hairstyle artist
– Florist
– Photographer
– Car service
– A place for your Stay
– A romantic place for your wedding dinner

But if you don’t want stress situations you might want a professional planner. It will save you a lot of time for some $. Here are some benefits of hiring a wedding planner in Paris:

Budget.
You can be sure, you will stick to a budget that you set. As a wedding planner in Paris know 100 of vendors and can select one that meets your requirements.

Local Experts.
They know Paris as it best and by giving you advice, they make your ceremony romantic and comfortable.

Inspiration.
A Paris planner can prepare inspiration board for you, depending on your wishes.

Time-Saving.
Imagine that you have to contact 20 – 50 different vendors, it can take a lot of time. With Paris planner, you will save hours of a boring job.

Nothing can go wrong.
When you don’t know the city and it vendors – you can’t be sure that all you planned will go smooth.

Here are some picks of wedding planners in Paris that I worked before or recommended by the couples:

– Rendez-vous in Paris
– Fête in France
– Celebrant in Paris

Only one vendor that you could hire without a wedding planner is a Paris photographer. Not everybody has the same taste in photography like you. Hiring a elopement photographer in Paris can be an easy and fun thing to do.

05. Top Places where to Elope in Paris

You 100% decided to go to Paris for your elopement and now you have to choose the right place for it. The first thing that you need to choose is a style of your day:

– Luxury elopement
– Simple and chic wedding
– Royal elopement
– Floral wedding

Based on your decision you can look into different places. But here are my list of top places to elope in Paris:

06. Choose Paris Wedding Photographer

Paris city of love, fashion and it’s a city where most photographers are based. You can find many talented photographers for your Paris wedding, but how to choose the right one?

Can capture special moments.

Special moments happen during the wedding day every minute and your photographer should know when and be ready to capture them in a natural way, for example first look, kiss, dance, emotions during the ceremony, etc.

Make a beautiful picture of you as a couple.

Check photographer portfolio and explore the pictures of couples during the wedding day. A good photographer should not only be focused on the reportage but also do the portrait shots with beautiful light and view.

Explore Portfolio

You want to feel comfortable and looks beautiful.

Make sure by taking a short call, explore photographer bio and journal before hiring him. It is very important to know the personality of the photographer as it is your day and you don't want some things that disturb you to take place the wedding day.

Have good reviews.

What can better describe photographer work as a review from another person?

Knows the city.

Your photographer in Paris should perfectly know the city. It is not important that this photographer will be from Paris or not, but it is important that he loves this city and know hidden spots for photography. Also, he needs to know and give you advise regarding timing and time of the day. When and where to take pictures in Paris is the answer that can give you only experienced Paris wedding photographer.

Make not only nice images but capture your personality

Every couple is unique and it’s very important that your photographer has that feeling. If your photographer doing the same poses and similar pictures on the same places, you will have something like this too. But if you see that he shoot every couple in a different way, then that's the right photographer for you Paris elopement.

07. Makeup and Hairstyle

Professional makeup will make you look beautiful for your wedding pictures. Every bride doesn’t want to make it herself on the wedding day and to hire a specialist – will be the right decision. If you on the same point as I am, here are some artists that I love to work with:

– MiU Hair & Makeup Artist
– Onorina Jomir

08. Bridal Bouquet

Same as other vendors, you need to be sure in your bridal bouquet. It has to stay fresh and looks amazing as it is in the morning for all the wedding day even if it’s +30 outside and your ceremony in a sunny place.

09. Wedding Dress

Paris is the fashion capital. You will find a wedding dress here on your taste for sure. But I recommend thinking about this in advance as this can be a bit stressful to walk around modern Paris boutiques and finding your perfect dress. Another solution is that you can rent your dress in Paris and you need to carry it over from home and back. Here is my recommendation for wedding dresses rental shop in Paris:

Promise Dress Rental

10. Celebrant in Paris

A Paris celebrant or we also call it Paris officiant is a person who speaks English and will conduct your elopement ceremony. Officiant can’t deliver any official paper about your marriage. You will receive a symbolic certificate after the ceremony that will remind about your marriage in Paris.

11. How much cost to elope in Paris?

The average price of elopement in Paris is about 3000 – 8000 eur and it depends on the hotel you choose for your stay, your vendors and many other factors. But you will never forget your relaxed and romantic days in Paris!

And after your elopement, you can organize a dinner with all your friends and family at your hometown with sharing your adventure and pictures with them.

If you elope in Paris, let’s make a date with you and I will be happy to help you to capture this intimate moment.

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Let’s chat more about your wedding or pre-wedding photosession.

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