Wedding Photography in France -
Chiha Studios Wedding Photographers
Enjoy the stunning wedding photos from Aline and Jonathan's March wedding in Paris. Spring had technically not sprung yet, but we were blessed with some beautiful greenery and flowers in a nearby park. We took portraits of the couple and group photos with the family in the park after the ceremonies.
Paris is usually cold in the winter time, but by March it is often quite mild. There is rarely snow in the city as well.
In the morning, the bride got ready at a local hair salon. She got her hair and makeup done and had a couple of her closest friends with her.
At Chiha Studios, we love when a couple decides to have a first look.
The first look is actually more of a new trend in America, but this french couple really resonated with the concept.
What is a first look?
A first look is when the couple decides to have a private moment before the ceremony to see each other. This moment is just between the 2 of them. Nobody else is there. It gives you the opportunity to see each other without everyone else looking on. It's a really tender and special moment. You can hold each other and have a kiss and hug before starting the wedding day activities.
It's your time to have a quiet, romantic moment.
But does the first look ruin the tradition of the groom seeing the bride walk down the aisle?
In our opinion, no!
All of the couples we've photographed have shared how much they LOVED having their first look and how it didn't make the aisle moment any less special.
Walking down the aisle is it's own special moment. It is not diminished by the special moment of the first look. You don't need to choose one over the other.
In the end, it's totally up to each couple. Some couples prefer the tradition of seeing each other for the first time down the aisle and that's totally fine. Neither choice is wrong.
In French culture, it's typical to have TWO wedding ceremonies.
Read that one more time if you need to. That's TWO wedding ceremonies, and yes on the same day.
Why?
In France, in order to have a religious wedding ceremony, you must first have a civil wedding ceremony.
The civil wedding ceremony is always at the town hall.
A civil wedding is a non-religious ceremony that is led by a government official.
After the civil ceremony comes the religious ceremony.
This couple had a Jehovah's Witness religious ceremony at their neighborhood place of worship, which is called a kingdom hall.
When the civil ceremony was finished, all of the guests made their way over to the kingdom hall for the religious ceremony.
After both ceremonies, we headed to a local park to get some beautiful portraits with the nature. I have to say, I don't think you'd ever know it was the middle of March.
Part of being a great photographer is being prepared for any situation.
At Chiha Studios, we have decades of experience in finding the best locations and the best angles outdoors so that our couples can have beautiful nature shots no matter where they are. Even if that means we're in the middle of a big city like Paris - and no matter what time of year - like the middle of March!
If it's cold outside still - we always recommend walking around with your warmest layers. The trick is to stay warm in between shots and when it's time for photos, you quickly dump the coat.
Typically, we block off 15-30 minutes for group photos and family photos.
It depends on how many different groups we're photographing.
Then, we block off 20-45 minutes for special couple's portraits.
This can be left up to the couple to decide how long they would like to block out in their day. 20 minutes would be the shorter option for couples who would prefer to not spend too much time taking portraits and then get back to their guests. 45 minutes would be for couples who want to spend more time and going to more special locations for their wedding day portraits.
After we were done with all of these portraits, we headed over to the reception.
Since this couple's wedding was in March, we needed to get all of the portraits done BEFORE the reception. Because in March, the sun sets very early! So we had limited day light outdoors to get beautiful portraits.
What better way to have a wedding reception than on a cruise down the Seine river at night?
All of the guests boarded the cruise for dinner and drinks and dancing. Top level was food and drink - bottom level was dancing.
The boat went down the Seine river at night - overlooking all of Paris lit up. It was incredibly romantic and special.
At the end, we passed by the Eiffel Tower all lit up.
What a perfect ending to a wedding in France.
