“What do we actually do all day?” is the question that comes right after the first one. Here is how an elopement day runs when I photograph it, from first light to dinner.
Very early morning
We often start at the Trocadéro, before the tour buses. In the first hour after sunrise the esplanade is almost empty and the light comes in from the side. It is the only part of the day when you can take your time there.
The scouting is already done: we chose the place and the hour together, based on the light and on the crowds that are actually there that day, not on a postcard.
The ceremony
It lasts as long as it needs to. There is no seating plan to manage and no group to move along, so there is no clock running. You exchange your vows, with two witnesses if you have them, and that is it.
If the legal part is already settled in your country, the Paris ceremony is symbolic and can be built freely. I go into that in the article on civil marriage for couples from abroad.
Between two locations
A half day covers the ceremony and two locations. The travel is worked out on foot or by taxi depending on the outfit and the weather: a long dress and a twenty-minute walk do not go together, and that is exactly the kind of detail that shapes the day.
Late afternoon
Pont Alexandre III works best at the end of the day, when the stone and the gilding turn warm. Montmartre if you would rather walk and brush past the city as it lives. A full day lets you add that third stretch of light, often the best one.
Dinner
Many couples close the day with dinner on their own. It is not compulsory, but it is the moment the tension drops, and the pictures change character.
What I take care of
The scouting, the timing, the fallback spot if the weather turns, and putting you in touch with officiants used to symbolic ceremonies in Paris. I work in French, English and Turkish, which helps when everything is arranged from a distance.
The full gallery arrives within three weeks, in high definition and web-ready versions.
Planning an elopement in Paris? I set out what is included on the service page, and the article on what an elopement is answers the first questions.