A Dream Wedding In A Historic Church & Private Mansion in Paris
By RACHEL KAPLAN
PARIS, FRANCE–When a Colombian-American beauty falls for a dashing Frenchman, it’s not altogether surprising that they would choose Paris as their choice for a destination wedding. But while the City of Light has plenty of magnificent photo ops, it’s short on churches where you can marry, as well as elegant venues where you can boogie until 4 am.
Fortunately, Ooh la la! France Wedding Planner was able to come up with the perfect non-denominational church where the pastor would marry our stunning couple after they provided a civil marriage license. Not only did the bride’s father walk her down the aisle to the music of her choice played by a professional organist, the church prepared a bilingual ceremony booklet that was distributed to all 83 guests so that everyone could follow what was being said. Beautifully presented, it was a lovely keepsake for all the guests to cherish for years to come.
First-time visitors to Paris were treated to a two-hour bus tour of the city, that took them to the Champs-Elysées, the Pyramid at the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, while our newlywed couple did their private city visit in a chauffeured Mercedes with our celebrated photographer, who captured some of the most romantic moments of that unforgettable September day. Happily, the weather was perfect which made all the difference.
The wedding party and bridal couple met up at around 6 pm at a sumptuous mansion on the Left Bank, a stone’s throw from the Musée d’Orsay. There they found an elegant champagne cocktail reception with exquisite French hors d’oeuvres, followed by a sit-down dinner consisting of a foie gras appetizer, filet of beef with seasonal vegetables and crispy fingerling potatoes, an assortment of French cheeses, an airy raspberry macaron dessert, as well as a traditional croquembouche–a tower of vanilla and chocolate cream-filled puff pastries that was enhanced by sparklers.
Best of all, throughout the cocktail and dinner hour, a trio of Latino jazz musicians, brought a wonderful energy and joy to the entire evening, much to the bride’s delight. Yes, even in Paris, the spirit of Latin America is alive and well.
It wasn’t long before the entire group was off to the mansion’s discothèque, set up in the mansion’s former wine cellar. Everyone had so much fun, that they prolonged the evening until 4 am, helped by extra bottles of champagne provided by the groom’s family.
A month later, we were delighted to receive this thank you note from the bride’s mother: “I wish to express my appreciation for the way you organized all the details of Isabel and Jerome’s wedding in Paris this past September 24. You and your staff did a fantastic job. It was a beautiful event, enjoyable and unforgettable. The Church ceremony and then the cocktail hour, dinner and dance at La Maison des Polytechniciens went flawless, and we have received quite a few compliments from friends and family members. It seems that everybody really enjoyed this special occasion with us….Thanks again, dear Rachel and my best wishes for more successful events to come.”