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TRAVEL LOVERS CANCELED BIG WEDDING AND ELOPED TO PARIS
JESSICA AND HENRY
THE COUPLE
- Together for over 3 years
- Love to travel
- Henry proposed in front of the great
pyramids in December 2020
- Visited 20 countries together
IMAGINED
Perfect honeymoon and romantic adventures
ELOPEMENT DAY
- River Seine sunrise ceremony
- Dream photoshoot
- Many happy memories
Jessica and Henry live in Florida. They met in Portugal and traveled the world, while working remotely, for the first year of their relationship. Together they visited 20 countries.
Henry proposed in front of the great pyramids in Egypt in December 2020
As an adventurous soul, Jessica wanted to have a fun and romantic wedding that she will remember forever. A wedding that stands out and brings only happy memories.
When she started planning her big wedding, she felt something was wrong. Behind her gorgeous wedding plans was her real love - travel. She knew what she needed to do. She just didn't know if she had the courage to cancel everything.
What were the other options? Jessica wondered. A sense of doubt was growing inside her as she listened to her inner voice.
She started searching for other options.
Here is a message we received:
PLANNING PROCESS
Jessica sent us an inquiry about a destination wedding in France.
We listened to her and came up with 3 important things:
1) What are couple's expectations
2) How to help them save time
3) And how to make the planning process as easy as possible
We used email and Whatsapp to connect and chat about the options. After Jessica and Henry secured their dates by sending €150 deposit, we signed a contract and started personalizing the special day. Photoshoot route, ceremony script, vows, flowers, makeup, and other exciting details.
Jessica and Henry both have very busy working schedules. And we are happy they planned the whole event without any stress whenever they had a bit of free time.
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DREAM VACATION
"At the end of the day spending $60,000 USD on one day is silly" confessed Jessica about her traditional big wedding cancellation.
So they canceled the whole thing and decided to have a time of their lives instead.
Jessica says "For our elopement trip, we spent 8 days in Paris and 9 in the Maldives.
While in Paris we spent time sampling a Michelin star restaurant, taking a macaroon baking class, and exploring the champagne houses in Reims.
We flew to the Maldives to stay at the Pullman Maldives in an overwater villa.
The highlight of our honeymoon was certainly turtle snorkeling where I saw around 40 massive turtles in an hour and a half.
TLDR: it was so much fun!"
Champagne houses in Reims
After snorkeling In Maldives
TIMELINE
Sunrise is the only time to have a beautiful ceremony without crowds of tourists around. We planned this September elopement really early. Here is the timeline:
05:30 - Makeup artist arrives. Bridal hair and makeup. Groom gets ready
07:30 - Pick up at the airbnb
08:00 - Ceremony begins
08:20 - Ceremony ends, group photos and Champagne
9 - Portrait photoshoot begins
12 -Driving back to the hotel
To have beautiful photos with incredible soft light and no people around, you need to wake up early. Jessica and Henry started their day at 5 in the morning.
Sometimes brides and grooms think “We are not the morning people, and photos are brighter when the sun is shining, let's do our ceremony at 11”. We understand no one wants to wake up early on their honeymoon. But taking photos after midday will be more difficult. Sun creates harsh shadows on your face and it is difficult to pose when sunlight makes you blind. Can you imagine having a photoshoot when there is no shade existing for miles and the heat rising up from the bakes the earth?
Waking up early is hard, but having crowds around you at your eyes shot in your wedding photos is a lot worse.
To survive this 5 AM wedding morning we recommend going to bed early, leaving a couple of days before your wedding to relax and deal with jet lag. Better to book the third day for the wedding after your flight, not the second.
Jessica and Henry arrived in Paris on September 3, 2021. They had 4 days to relax and explore the city. And wedding day was planned for September 8, 2021. Here is a happy message from Jessica after they landed and took a 40-minute taxi ride to Paris from Charles de Gaulle Airport:
BRIDAL LOOK
The day has finally come. Jessica started her wedding morning by meeting our makeup artist Yana @makeupparisyana near couple's airbnb. Here is a reference photo of makeup Jessica sent us and a final look.
Reference photos
Here is a photo from when Jessica went dress shopping
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Bride's eyes are sparkling!
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And on her wedding day in Paris
FLOWERS
Jessica wanted to have a classic bouquet. She asked for ivory and soft pink roses. A classic wedding flower combination. This light airy bouquet will perfectly fit a classic and glamourous bridal style. We delivered this bouquet to airbnb after the makeup was done. Jessica arrived at the ceremony already holding her flowers.
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Bridal bouquet from @refletsfleurs
WEDDING DAY TRANSPORTATION
Our packages include transportation services.
We take care of coordination and logistics.
No need to stress by searching for a taxi when traveling between the locations. We picked Jessica and Henry up from their Airbnb after makeup was done and traveled to the ceremony location, Eiffel Tower.
After the photo shoot was over, we returned back to their Airbnb.
WEDDING CEREMONY
Jessica and Henry were excited as their ceremony approached. They picked River Seine for the ceremony location. With Eiffel Tower as a backdrop. Standing there feels like the best thing that’s ever happened. This is the moment you'll want to save. Saying your vows with this view feels like electricity, in a good way. The best way.
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The symbol of Paris and it's all for you
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Your heart always jumps at the beginning when Officiant starts by saying "We are gathered here today..."
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A dream in Paris
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Moments before saying "I DO"
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Henry's vow
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Jessica's vow
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So romantic and emotional it feels like time goes in slow-motion
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Signing certificates
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And we ended this ceremony "So, by joining hands right now and looking into each other’s eyes, let it be known that you are joined in this lifetime!"
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Over the moon!
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Jessica and her best friend Christina
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“Are we really married in Paris? Are we?”
PARIS PORTRAIT SHOOT
Photoshoot in our all-inclusive elopement package offers you to pick 4 favorite locations to visit. We help couples by selecting only the best places in Paris. The most romantic views. There are many great locations out there, you just have to decide which ones fit your wedding vision.
TROCADERO
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HOW TO GET GIANT BALLOONS?
When Jessica said "I am thinking about getting giant red balloons but I'm not sure where to buy them" we immediately recommended @wowfactoryparis .
It is easy for the couple because you can choose any style, quantity, and color, make an online payment and get a delivery right to the Eiffel Tower Trocadero at any time.
Jessica ordered a red balloon set to add a pop of color to the blue sky. As far as we remember, it was around €300, just to give you an idea of what to invest. Looks so pretty! The balloon set was big and beautiful and we all loved it.
Jessica showed a good example of how to style the wedding shoot. So here is another great idea on how to make your Paris elopement pictures stand out.
But this option is great only for Summer weddings. During a windy January day, it can turn into a disaster.
Balloons are fun, we recommend them to personalize your Paris wedding
Trocadero had some constructions because of the Paris Fashion Week. But that wasn't a problem, we edited everything out as we always do. Here is a backstage image of Helene holding the balloons while the couple is taking final portrait shots..
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And retouched image from Tim's camera
BRIDGE ALEXANDRE III
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TUILERIES
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LOUVRE
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WEATHER IN PARIS IN SEPTEMBER
September is typically a warm summer month. As we started the day, we experienced lovely sunrise and the temperature was around 23°C (73.4°F). Golden sunlight lit up the scene. The air was cool but the sun was out. Later during the midday temperature went up. It was so hot we were drinking one water bottle after another. If we planned ceremony for 11 AM our brains would fry like an egg.
PERSONAL DETAILS
We recommend ordering personalized vow books and other props for your elopement day. You can show your personality with these details and add some style to wedding photos.
And you will have pretty vows to frame after the wedding is over. Memories to be cherished forever!
Couples order them on Amazon or Etsy by searching "vow books".
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FILL UP THE WALLS
We are so happy Jessica printed our images. It is always a pleasure to see your work loved. Here are some pictures of a photo gallery she did:
FINAL THOUGHTS
After the dream trip Jessica and Henry were super happy with their decision "Traveling is what sparked our relationship and we spent a lot of time in Paris so it’s a special place to us."
And here is a review from the bride herself on our Google page. So happy that we have the kindest and sweetest clients!
