02
Dec 2014

Jaye + Thomas

Bikes, Bookstore and Paris – Two Australians Eloping in France

I don’t know if you remember the wonderful pictures of Marcio and I on our bikes that Dragos and Laura (aka Be Light Photography) took last year? Well, this post inspired Jaye and Thomas to come straight from Australia to have their elopement in Paris, by bike, and have the whole thing covered by the Be Light Photography team. How adorable? I also love that they dropped their initial idea to have a big castle wedding to organize something more intimate and casual that would correspond better to their personalities.

Their day included riding bikes (obviously), stopping by a well-known jewellery to buy Jaye’s wedding ring, and finally eloping at the door of a retro bookstore… and the latter choice was no coincidence: since Jaye and Thomas first met, each month they buy a book for one another. This July they decided to buy it from Paris’ famous Shakespeare and Co bookshop and while there, get married right out the front! Photos by Dragos for Be Light Photography.

•••
 

The wedding took place on July, 11, 2014 in Paris, France.
What Jaye and I always wanted for our wedding was a mixture of intimacy, uniqueness and plenty of fun – something that reflected our personalities, our relationship and our life more generally.
We started with a grand plan in mind – renting an old Chateaux in the Bordeaux area and throwing a small intimate party long into the night. Imagine if you can: sitting under a big oak tree nestled around some trestle tables, good home made food and plenty of french wine. However, as we started to delve a little further, we discovered that if we were to remain true to ourselves, what we really wanted was something less formal, and more authentic and active. Neither of us are known for being able to sit still or stay in one spot for too long.
Over a weekend, we hatched the plan to celebrate our wedding in Paris. Everything was organised over the net, including our photographer Dragos Ludusan. The day would be typically Parisian from dawn to dusk.
The day played out something like this: Croissants, Pain au Chocolat, Pain Raisin and coffee for breakfast (of course plenty of red wine the night before) followed by a walk to pick up our bikes, where we would ride across Paris for the day, take lunch in a typically french bistro (what else but steak and frites), before getting married in front of Shakespeare and Co bookshop and spending the night opposite the Eiffel Tower. Low key, packed full of highlights and on the go.
Our ride took us to Boucheron Jewellers to pick up Jaye’s wedding ring – a gorgeous experience, in a perfect setting just down rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore. Different, unique and typically French. We rode past too many Paris sights to name them all, but if you can think of one, I bet we rode past it.
A couple of close friends flew from around the globe to join us on our special day. Scott and Kirty are very special to us and we feel blessed that they travelled to Europe from Australia with 9 month old Patrick. Likewise, Tomoko, Simon and Isaac joined us from London for the day.
Everyone got into the spirit of the day, riding through Paris with limited direction, no helmets and sprinkles of rain here and there.
The night ended with a beautifully designed room at the Hotel Sezz, located on the River Seine’s right bank, 900 metres from the Eiffel Tower. It had an amazing bathroom and wonderfully soft and luscious bed.

 

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Name one thing you regret…

A cliche but true: we honestly don’t regret anything….the day was simple, fun and relaxed. It was better than we had imagined.

 
 
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… And one thing that makes you proud.

How everything just came together on the day without being over planned, over thought and without too much fuss! It really was a jam-packed, fun filled day. Even the early morning rain couldn’t hold us back from exploring Paris by bike. Having friends share the day with us also made us very happy.
Last but not least, it was an absolute pleasure to meet and get to know our photographer, Dragos Ludusan. We actually found Dragos through the French Kiss the Bride website and knew straight away that he was the one that we wanted to capture the day, telling the natural story through his lens.  What a great guy – professional, adaptable and all round bloody good photographer! Dragos went with the flow, working with us to beautifully capture the true essence of our special day.

 

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The word of the photographer.

Meeting Jaye & Thomas in Paris was an incredible cultural and photographic experience. I love photographing people to whom I can connect and relate to and who relate really good with each other. I always thought that chemistry is photogenic and I think that this is what makes Thomas & Jaye’s pictures so special. Their elopement in Paris sure was an adventure and I’m always in for adventures!
02
Oct 2014

Oana + Ciprian

Casual DIY Romanian Wedding in Black and White with a Gipsy Band

I guess not many future brides and groom think about black as a nice color to use at a wedding. It is a beautiful colour though, that gives a classy touch, and combines really well with all things wood-based or DIY. I bet you’re now curious to see how it can look like? Good news, you just need to scroll down a bit to enjoy the amazing work this couple did for their wedding! The photographs were taken by the talented Rares of Rares Ion Photography, using only available light.

•••

 

The wedding took place on August 23, 2014, in a village called Poiana lui Stanga, around 44 km away from Bucharest, Romania.
One of the most important ingredients of an open-air wedding is certainly the weather. But the weather forecast 24 hours before the event was gloomy: 60% chances of raining, thunderstorm and the whole deal, while for the morning of the wedding these chances rose to 85%.
And it did rain at 5 am in the morning. But the music was so good and the atmosphere so electrifying that nobody even noticed the rain. So the dance continued, disregarding the wet clothes.

 

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Name one thing you regret…

Well, the only regret is not getting married earlier. Less hesitations, less questions, less cold feet, more action.

 

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… And one thing that makes you proud.

Paper saved the party and it allowed us to make the space look spectacular at a very low cost. Origami black and white birds hanged over the table on invisible strings, the menus written by hand with a real rosemary leaf on the cover, the paper feathers that decorated the napkins, everything was simple and cool to look at.

 

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22
Aug 2014

Lacey + Logan

An Elopement in San Diego with a Nearly 9 Months Pregnant Bride

I think I don’t show enough elopements here. What a great way to get to the essence of what getting married means, have less to worry about and spend energy only caring about the main aspects of the day. And I guess, it also has its financial advantages for those of you on a budget. Lacey tells us more about their decision and experience below, and who knows, maybe their story will inspire you too! Lacey is, by the way, an extremely beautiful bride; she calls her bouquet and head piece “amazing”, and I can only agree – amongst the most beautiful I’ve seen! Photography by Yes, Dear. Studio.

•••

 

Lacey and Logan’s elopement took place in San Diego, at Sunset Cliffs, facing the Ocean. Here’s the story, from the bride, of how they dropped the idea of having the usual wedding (the one with guests) and decided to elope instead.

What made my wedding day so special was the ease and simplicity. It was everything I ever wanted not to mention, drama free! Whenever we talked about our wedding it was, “Well we can’t do it there… so and so won’t be able to make it, or we can’t do it then because this is happening…” I realized those excuses had nothing to do with Logan and I and how silly it all was. We were expecting our beautiful baby boy and just decided to have a special day between the two of us before life as we knew it forever changed. I was in love with the idea! I had a month to put together my dream wedding. I had always envisioned a green wedding with absolutely no flowers and I achieved that with my amazing bouquet and head piece made of ferns, eucalyptus, ruscus, luecadendron, kale, and Mexican babies breath. The pins on my belt belonged from my grandmother and I added to them with vintage pins found at thrift stores. Our ceremony was held at Sunset Cliffs which is also were Logan and I had an incredible first date exploring caves and examining sea life. 

 

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Name one thing you regret…

My biggest fear with eloping was that I would regret something, so I made sure to do everything I felt was important personally. The only thing is that I would have loved to have a different dress.
It was a timing issue, the one I had my heart set on I was not able to find in a store and I was too nervous to order online because I was worried about fitting properly… I should’ve just had it made, it was a simple design, but I didn’t think of that till too late.

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

My number one concern for eloping was documenting and capturing the day perfectly and Yes, Dear. Studio exceeded my expectations!

 

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The word of the photographers.

While nearly nine months pregnant with their first child, Lacey & Logan decided to elope rather than waste any more time on the details of a big wedding . They chose the most beautiful location, Sunset Cliffs in San Diego,  to say “I do”. They had an intimate ceremony as the sun was setting, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It was a moment full of sincerity and love. It was an amazing honor for us to experience something so pure and beautiful. These two have so much love for each other and their baby boy, Hutch. We spent nearly five hours capturing their special day in their favorite spots around San Diego, completely free from stress or pressure.

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You May French Kiss the Bride is a creativity-stimulating website for crazy-in-a-good-way photographers and couples. We are Joana and Marcio and we think you’re the best. Be in love. Be yourself—and let it spill over the web!

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