Paris. Known as the city of lights, the city of love, and the city of fashion. This elopement in Paris holds all of those together.

Catherine Dior

I took my inspiration from Catherine Dior. This is a nod to her and her lover, Herve Papillautarve, whom she met during WWII when they were both fighting with the French Resistance. I created, designed, styled and photographed this to be reflective of her personality as well as their relationship. Confident yet reserved. An introspective quietness that could be misunderstood as cold and detached. She had a full understanding of who she was and what she stood for.

Elopement in Paris – A Garden Wedding

An elopement and a garden wedding is exactly what Catherine would have wanted. I took her love of gardening and flowers as well as her personality and chose a gown and suit that would be unique for a bride and groom, including the groom wearing a shirt with butterflies on it – Catherine’s animal she picked to place in their childhood family garden. And while they had portraits in Paris, they would host a very small and intimate gathering at their private country home surrounded by the gardens she loved.

Elopement in Paris Stationery

The elopement stationery was something I was very specific about. The names had to be Caro & Eric – Catherine and Herve’s code names during the war. A Paris soireé with ceremony the following day at their holiday home in Granville. Pinkish and grey coloring to reflect their childhood home and Christian’s favorite colors. Address is 10 Rue Royale – the address of Christian and Catherine during the war. As a nod to her brother, Christian, a tiger hidden in their reception flowers. Every detail was intentional and serves a special and deep purpose. 

Bringing the Outside In

One of the things I wanted to make sure of is to give our dinner table a garden feel. The table had a runner of live moss with different layers of florals with plenty of colors and textures. It made it as if we were having a luxurious picnic, yet inside! I even added edible floral petals to ice cubes for an added floral touch.

Elopement Vendors

Of course none of this elopement in Paris could have happened without the most incredible team of vendors.

Hosted by The Seasons Workshops | Concept, design, styling, planning and photographed by Amy Mulder Photography | Makeup @staciefordbeautyco with makeup supplied to us by Dior  | Hair @widniealexis | Gown @marchesafashion@marchesabridal  | Mens attire @chrisvonmartial | Rings and earrings @artanerparis | Florals @staffordmyra with @larrosoirparis | Stationery @afinepress | Biscuits @sobangparis | Champagne bottles @styled_by_stiles | Cake @syniesparis 

And our amazing models: @londonbellrachel @brainnicklen

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