Voulez-vous… dîner avec moi ce soir?

As longtime residents of Paris, we know that even with a carte de séjour and a mastery of la langue de Molière, it can still sometimes be difficult to overcome cultural barriers and find French acquaintances. So obviously it’s that much harder for visiting tourists to get a peek into the real France, and the locals who inhabit it.

Enter Voulez-Vous Dîner, a new twist on social networking which mixes travel, cultural exchange, and a home-cooked dinner with strangers.

The idea is that visitors to Paris (tourists, expatriates, business travelers) can connect with Parisian locals in their homes over a home-cooked gourmet dinner. Hosts are carefully selected based on several criteria, including their residence, cooking ability, cultural openness and of course, fluency in English! Hosts and guests sign up via the Voulez-Vous Dîner website and both are able to specify their areas of interest, providing assured dinner conversation topics.

So whether you’re a visitor to Paris looking for a change from the traditional French brasserie or a local Parisian interested in showing off your hospitality and mastery of French gastronomy, there’s just one simple question:

Voulez-vous dîner?

Your fairytale castle…

… with practical advantages!

Everyone knows that we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to chateaus in France. They come in every shape and size, every state of repair (or disrepair). So it’s always a pleasure to discover a place that ticks all of the boxes our clients have when looking for a chateau for their wedding venue.

Easily accessible from Paris via TGV or from London via Ryanair, this chateau is located just a short 20 minute drive from Poitiers. The chateau was originally built in the middle ages, and like many other structures, was added to and modified over the centuries. While many of the guestrooms still have some of the surprising details left over from the medieval period, all of the bathrooms have been elegantly updated! The chateau comfortably sleeps 34 and can accommodate up to 45 if need be – a real plus!

The grounds of the chateau present a variety of choice for your wedding festivities. Will you have your ceremony on the veranda or in the beautiful gothic church just steps away? Will the cocktail be in front of the chateau or in the rustic “chai” (refurbishment planned for 2012)? Will the dinner be in the reception room or outdoors in long tables in the tree-lined alley? So many possibilities to make a memorable day for you and your guests (and always with ample possible back-up solutions in case of inclement weather!)

Nous, on adore!

Press room: Fête in France on Style Me Pretty!

We were very excited when our friends at One & Only Paris Photography told us that Style Me Pretty would be posting photos of Angeli & Tim’s wedding from this past December. As with all press, you’re always left wondering when exactly you’ll be published – and yesterday the wait was finally over!

Check it out!