Paris is the city of love, for its sensual, romantic atmosphere; a beautiful, bohemian city of culture, well known for its chic Art Nouveau and simple elegant style. If you’re planning a city wedding with a truly romantic feel, here’s how to put a little ‘Ooh la la!’ into your big day, with our Paris wedding theme ideas!
Styling your ceremony with a Parisian Love Letter
Chic, understated Parisian style is epitomised in the elegant swirls of calligraphy on the Parisian Love Letter range of wedding accessories which includes invitations, matching stationery and cute personalised notepad favours.
Add an unusual decorative touch to your ceremony with a Parisian Love Letter aisle runner that can be personalised with your names and the date of your wedding. This is a lovely eye-catching focal point to your ceremony and can be kept ever after as a treasured keepsake of your day.
The Fleur de Lis is another emblem synonymous with French style and Paris and a pretty addition to a Paris wedding theme.
Above clockwise from top left, at the Confetti shop: Parisian Love Letter paper blooms in gold or black | Parisian Love Letter large paper scroll shapes | Parisian Love Letter table numbers | Fleur de Lis envelope liners
Styling your reception the Parisian way
Deep red and gold are the perfect colours for a Paris inspired wedding reception. Whether you choose to recreate a casual street café look with checkered table linens or an evening bistro feel with candles and lanterns, add a nod to the red windmill of the Moulin Rouge and striking ostrich feathers to your centrepieces to get the look.
For a very special Paris themed wedding, take your guests to London’s famous Cafe de Paris!
Above, clockwise from top left: Destination Love Eiffel Tower tag at the Confetti shop | Eiffel Tower favours at caesarsweddingfavours.co.uk | Cassandra & Steven’s Parisian themed real wedding by Douglas Fry | Parisian Love Letter favour box wraps at the Confetti shop | French decorative canister with lid at the Confetti shop | Paris Amour hat boxes at Amazon | Paris table style | Paris favour boxes at onewed.com | Paris theme sweet buffet from eventsbyloveinc.wordpress.com
Wedding dress of French lace
A bridal gown of antique French lace in a flirty 1930s style, slinky fishtail gown or 1950s inspired tea length dress would all work beautifully against a Paris style setting.
Above, from top: Gala by Cymbeline | Galile by Cymbeline | Adéle by Fabienne Alagama | Antoinette by Fabienne Alagama | two gowns from Delphine Manivet 2013 collection | Hermione by Cymbeline | Camelia by Naomi Neoh
Wedding invitations a la vintage Paris postcards
Add a touch of nostalgia to your Paris style wedding with gorgeous hundred year old vintage postcards showing Paris in its heyday. Have them colour-copied to make the most amazing looking matching wedding invitations, place cards and thank-you cards. Add a Paris themed table planner using famous Parisian landmarks as your table names, and for that extra touch, write them in French, as follows:
1. La Tour Eiffel
2. Basilique du Sacré-Coeur
3. L’Arc de Triomphe
4. Notre Dame de Paris
5. Le musée du Louvre
6. Montmartre
7. Moulin Rouge… and so on
Above, clockwise from top left: Parisian Love Letters confetti cone at the Confetti shop | Parisian Love Letter thank-you card at the Confetti shop | Parisian Love Letter post note card at the Confetti shop | vintage Parisian postcard from the 1920s | Paris style stationery by inthetreehouse.co.uk | vintage Paris image from keywordpictures.com
Wedding cake, macaroons and the towering croquembouche
For a traditional French wedding cake serve your guests a stunning croquembouche (which means ‘crunch in the mouth’) – a teetering cone-shaped tower of profiteroles all bound together with threads of caramel. There really is nothing else quite like it!
Macaroons or ‘le macaron’ as the French call them are those small meringue-like biscuity cakes that not only taste divine but can be made to match your wedding colours! Serve them in twos on the saucer of pretty unmatching vintage tea cups, scattered onto old fashioned cake stands topped with fresh flowers or stuck together into a sweet Eiffel Tower shape for a real feel of French fancy!
Above, clockwise from top left: macaroon tower by Maison Blanc | pink macaroons | croquembouche tower by Fancy That! | macaroons by angesdesucre.com | mini metal pails in silver or white from the Confetti shop
Wedding hair the Paris way with le chignon
A Paris wedding demands an extra chic ‘up-do’ such as the chignon, which comes from the French phrase “chignon du cou,” which means nape of the neck.
The elegant chignon is achieved by pinning the hair into a knot at the nape of the neck or at the back of the head. Finish with a tiara and veil, sparkly hair accessory or flowers.
Honeymoon in Paris
And finally, once your gorgeous Paris style wedding is over, where else could you go on your honeymoon but Paris?
