A summer wedding in Paris

We’ve been lucky enough to organise some beautiful weddings this summer both in Paris and further afield. There’s nothing more enjoyable than seeing a couple and their guests indulge in all the festivities! Here are a few photos from Suzanne and Paul’s wedding that they celebrated here in Paris.

We loved putting all the final touches to this wedding; the table cards named after Paris’ most famous architecture including ‘Le Musée d’Orsay’ and ‘L’Arc de Triomphe’, the mini Eiffel Towers that we used to hold the name cards and the Martini vases overflowing with roses. After a delicious gourmet dinner the reception went into full swing as the the newly weds and their friends dined and danced until the early hours. Many thanks to Kevin and Katie at KHulett Photography who took some fantastic shots and really captured the fun, festive atmosphere that surrounded this wedding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited Rungis!

What’s Rungis? It’s the main wholesale market of Paris, and the largest in the world. It’s a giant complex that was built up to replace Les Halles in central Paris. And we got to visit it!

We tagged along with our darling florist Karine to visit the floral pavilion and check out the enormous wholesale decoration warehouses. And eat a turkey-mayo on baguette sandwich at 7:30am.

Here’s a recap of our early morning visit:

4:55am: The alarm goes off. It’s way. too. early.
5:10am: Is it too early for leftover galette des rois? Stomach seems to think yes.

5:24am: In the car. It’s very, very quiet.
5:42am: After a bit of meandering around the town of Rungis, we arrive at the market of Rungis!

6:08am: Making the rounds with Karine our florist, shopping to stock her boutique. It’s less busy than we would have thought. We’re informed that we’re “late”, meaning that there are crazy people that show up even earlier than 5:30-6 o’clock in the morning.

6:45am: Orange pressée, café crème and gossip at the flower pavilion café.

7:17am: Turkey-mayo on baguette to go.
7:27am: Pick up the day’s purchases and load up the camion.
7:30am: The sandwich is calling…
7:45am: A spin around the decoration stores. There’s a lot of cool stuff we could use for our weddings!

9:00am: Back at FiF HQ. Nap time.

Anchors away!

We don’t often get to see our clients before they arrive in France for their wedding.  So it was a treat to be able to work with newly expatriated couple Elizabeth and Nathan.  Athletic, all-American and keen sailors (on the bride’s side) they had chosen to have their ceremony and reception on one of the elegant boats that cruise the Seine in Paris.  It was abundantly clear that a nautical theme was in order and we helped them go all out.

Guests arrived in bateau chic attire and were delighted as the bride and father of the bride cruised up in a Venetian water taxi.  The ceremony began and guests (and the neighboring boat) watched as Elizabeth and Nathan tied the knot.  The boat set sail and an accordion and clarinet duo added a festive tone to the cocktail – it was Fête de la Musique after all!

The reception followed and the room looked resplendant in navy and white, tall calla lily centerpieces, thematic table names (bow knot, square knot, clove hitch…) and elegant calligraphied escort cards and menus.  The meal was topped off by the presentation of a traditional French pièce montée de croquembouche and a champagne fountain poured by the couple.

The couple opened up the dance floor with their first dance to “Sailing” by Christopher Cross and as usual, the young crowd closed the place down.

Photos courtesy of Fred Marigaux

Reinauguration of a classic Parisian wedding venue

Last evening Fête in France attended the reinauguration of one of the classic wedding venues in Paris – in fact Anne’s parents-in-law had their wedding there over 50 years ago! This venue doubles as the alumni club of one of France’s prestigious grande écoles.

We were treated to champagne and canapés and chef’s stations that couldn’t manage to churn out the nibbles fast enough (our favorite: crab & caviar served on a potato chip!) We were also treated to some classic quadrille dancing by current students, smartly dressed in uniforms and long red dresses.

The rooms on the main floor have been beautifully restored and the hand-applied gilt details sparkled in the chandelier light. The blue room also caught our eye – very Marie Antoinette!

Floral Arrangement Gallery

Dramatic and high or romantic and low, check out our gallery of floral arrangements to help inspire your look for your wedding!

Bouquet Gallery

Looking for ideas for your bridal bouquet? Scroll down to see some examples from some of our Fête in France brides…