Extravaganza | You May French Kiss The Bride

Jun 2014

Marie-Laure + Sébastien

Wedding at the Funfair Museum in Paris

I’ve been living in Paris for 9 years now, and I find it quite hard to believe, but the first time I heard about this funfair museum was when I was told about this wedding. Pride set aside, this is probably the most amazing place I’ve ever seen and choosing it for a wedding venue the best idea ever. Thank you Marie-Laure and Sébastien for being awesome, and for sharing your story with us here. Also, many thanks to David Latour for this wonderful reportage and for thinking of You May French Kiss the Bride to show a bit of Marie-Laure and Sébastien’s wonderful day!

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The wedding took place on May 10th, 2014 in Paris. The ceremony was held at the Salon des Miroirs, and the cocktail & dinner at the Funfair Museum. From the bride:

The funny thing about the wedding is that I knew the place (Funfair Museum) long time before I even thought about getting married (even before I met my husband!). I used to work in PR in Paris and each time I attended an event in this place I thought it would be THE PLACE I’d chose if I had something HUGE to celebrate ! It’s beautiful, elegant and SO MUCH FUN !…

Sebastien and I met 8 years ago, we did not think about marriage at the first place even though we very soon realize we wanted to live together, have kids… and a year ago, it became obvious, we decided to get married and when we came to point of where it should take place, the Fun-Fair museum was OUR place, Sebastien loved it and it was exactly the wedding we wanted. We wanted our guests and our kids (we now have 3 kids) to play and have fun and it worked ! Everyone was AMAZED by the place… and seemed to have the greatest time ! It is such a wonderful venue, something you could not find anywhere else in the world !!!…

Name one thing you regret…

No regrets concerning the wedding itself, we (and our guests I think) had a wonderful time ! We just wish we could do it again and again….

… And one thing you’re really happy about/ proud of.

We are very proud of the laïc ceremony we organized, we spent a lot of time thinking about it, writing our own vows but it was deeply moving.

On a more casual side, we were very happy about all the the little details we put together for our party such as the vintage photo booth (we came back home with so many great and funny pictures of everyone), the tattoos we designed, etc… our guests loved this !

The word of the photographer.

When Marie-Laure and Sébastien contacted me and told me about their venue – the funfair museum – I was secretly hoping during days and days that they would ended up choosing me to document their wedding.

What a wonderful place! I almost immediately thought about the universe of Tim Burton, of whom I’m really fan, especially for the circus side of Big Fish. On the day of the wedding, the weather wasn’t really nice and I ended up doing most of the pictures indoors.

The choice of the Pullman Hotel near Bercy was excellent, with this view over Paris and those large windows. I especially appreciated to be able to play with the contrast between the modernity and luminosity of the hotel and then the funfair atmosphere of the venue.

Once at the museum, we only had around 20 minutes to take a few shots outside before the rain forced us to go back in… This is my only regret, because the surrounding area is really fantastic and looks like a film set!

In the different rooms, I had to deal with the very low light, but in the end I’m happy with the result. My newly weds were delighted with the pictures and I this makes me particularly happy because I know how much it meant to them.

All in all, an unforgettable wedding, an absolutely crazy location and a very sweet couple! My only frustration remains to not have been able to spend more time with the couple alone to take pictures of them, but then, an entire day at the funfair museum wouldn’t be enough to explore all the possibilities…

Finally, here’s a video, realized by Lea of Less is More Films, of that day.

Apr 2014

Bernadette + Egbert

Burlesque Wedding in a Theatre in the Netherlands

Today’s wedding is huge. Bernadette and Egbert got married in a theatre in their hometown Zwolle in the Netherlands, right on the stage where normally big productions like operas, musicals and ballet performances take place. After the bride’s entrance, the celebrant was drawn by lot and ended up being the bride’s brother. What happened next was just a unique sequence of sketches, acts and piano shows, to which the guests could participate. The result? Check it yourself: one of the most eccentric weddings I’ve ever seen, full of laughter and fun for everyone! The beautiful pictures of this burlesque wedding were taken by Nicole Bosch out of the Netherlands.

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The wedding took place on October 3rd, 2013, at the Theatre De Spiegel in Zwolle, the Netherlands.

We wanted a special wedding. We wanted a party for everyone. An experience, an event, a wedding you’ll never forget and that our guests would remember for a long time. Soon we knew we wanted entertainment in many forms , and when the idea came to get married in the theatre, everything fell into place.

When we saw the pictures, we experienced the day all over again. The atmosphere, the butterflies in the stomach and above all the love that we got that day from our family and friends were perfectly captured. The pictures show so many happy and cheerful faces. And that was exactly what we wanted. That not only we had un unforgettable day, but also our family and friends.

Name one thing you regret…

I was almost too late for the wedding ceremony. When preparing the veil, the coordinator entered the dressing room and told that Egbert was already on stage. The image of a running bride, my father, and four little bridesmaids through the corridors of the theatre really stayed with me. And even though I just had a moment of stress at that time, now I ‘m smiling back.

… And one thing you’re really happy about/ proud of.

In fact there’s too many to mention!

– Dress and prepare in front of our parents and good friends.

– Seeing each other when entering the theatre.

– My father giving me away;

– Be married by your brother;

– Singing father and niece

The word of the photographer.

Every wedding is special to document, but sometimes you have a wedding that is extra special for the photographer. The wedding of Egbert, Bernadette and their son Rembrandt was one of those.

Theater De Spiegel is one of the most beautiful theatres in the Netherlands, both before and behind the scenes. The beautiful lobby, the artists dressing rooms and the grandeur of the stage with its beautiful lighting, gives a photographer unprecedented opportunities. It was great to capture a wedding in such an impressive backdrop.

With leading roles for Egbert and Bernadette, a theatre worthy program was staged. The ceremony was a great show. The celebrant, brother of the bride, was ‘chosen’ by drawing of lottery balls, and the wedding vows where very personal and full of love.

After the ceremony, the guests were allowed to enter the stage and they became part of the cast. Acts with acrobats, burlesque dancers and a spectacular piano show. The entire party was an impressive performance!

Mar 2013

Lauren + James

Real Extravaganza Circus Wedding!

If there’s someone here who, deep down inside, still thinks weddings are boring and out of trend, this HAS GOT to be the one wedding that will shut this little voice up forever and turn you into a pro-marriage activist. This, my dear friends, is simply the most unique wedding I got to see and maybe feature in a very long time. Lauren wrote, We don’t like cliches or stereo types and we like things to be fun. Wearing a white dress was not part of my life dream. (…) James’ background is Singaporean Chinese, so the format we chose really pushed the boundaries and conventions as far as weddings go!! Actually, no need to be Singaporean Chinese to realize that boundaries were pushed — and you know we love that. Photography by the amazing Australia-based (but available for some May & June weddings or else in Europe/ France—reservations start now!) photographer Lakshal Perera.

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I know this shouldn’t be that exceptional, but Lauren proposed to James, and I think I haven’t seen that before, at least not since I’m running the blog. From Lauren:

The engagement happened on 29th of February 2012 in a reasonably non-conventional way. After living together for 11 years, I decided to propose to James by hanging a 13 metre poster across a freeway overpass leading into the city. He didn’t crash the car… and he did say “yes”.

OK, I know that’s all you’re waiting for, so here’s about the circus theme.

After we became engaged, we threw around some ideas and very quickly settled on the circus theme. The more research and people I spoke to the more exciting it became. It wasn’t without some resistance from the traditionalists, but I guess people had 11 months to ask some questions and embrace the idea.

Everyone, including our guests, were in costume. During the evening all things were circus. Food presented in theme, the MC Heidi (miss Amour) was stunning and entertaining. Our events company showcased the various acts, with an umbrella foot juggler, an aerialist / contortionist who can hoola hoop, and the “muscle boys” performed a comedy and athletic balancing routine. Just spectacular.

Name one thing you regret… Maybe that sounds a bit of an unnecessary question, doesn’t it? Let’s just go on with more stories from Lauren and James’ circus wedding, because I don’t know you, but I can’t get enough.

We choose the traditional bits of a wedding we liked, like entertaining and heart felt speeches, being walked down the aisle by my Dad, the Chinese Yum seng, and a fabulous band and ditched the bits we didn’t. As promised, our Jack Russell dog, Milo Dinosaur, delivered the rings with her 6 year old assistants (the animal tamers) and even barked in response to the crowd’s round of applause.

… And one thing you’re really happy about / proud of.

In terms of the Wedding day, we held both the ceremony and the reception at the same venue, doing photos the day before, something I would recommend to brides to be. I loved the way people got involved and proud of how the event unfolded and was just as we had envisioned it. Our friends and family really went to a great deal of effort to help with the festivities leading up to the event, making invites, a piece of art for decoration, a kissing booth, hen’s and buck’s nights and the list goes on. A lot of thought and effort went into costumes and the response to the invitation calling for “Dress: creative circus” was met with great creativity indeed. The kissing booth seemed fitting for a wedding and has now become a feature of the venue. The later part of the night attracted greater participation in the booth!… and Lucky our photographer was able to capture it all through his lens.