A + B Elopement

We wanted it to feel warm, generous and alive

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

A: I’m a designer at a design agency in Paris. It’s really a passion for me, so I feel very lucky to be able to do something I genuinely love every day. I’ve always been drawn to beautiful things, but also to the stories and ideas behind them.

B: I’m a freelance Machine Learning Engineer, and I work with tech companies, mainly on AI-related projects. So our jobs are quite different, but I think that’s something we actually enjoy about each other; we have very different ways of looking at things.

A: What really brings us together, though, is our love of food and all the simple pleasures of everyday life. We love going to our favourite café in Montmartre, taking our time over a good lunch, cooking together, or just watching The Office after a long day.

A: B is very interested in history, and I’m much more drawn to art, so Paris is a pretty perfect city for both of us. We can spend an afternoon visiting an exhibition, discovering a new neighbourhood, or getting completely lost in a bookshop. And when we travel, we tend to do the same thing: explore a city through its food, its culture and its history.

B: We also both love music and dancing, which is actually how we met in the first place. So I guess that has always been a big part of our story.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

A: We met at work, through a mutual friend who introduced us. At first, we were just colleagues who knew each other casually. Our company used to organise these big themed parties, with really good DJs, and they were actually a great way for people from different teams to meet. And then there was one particular evening when things changed a little bit.

B: Yes, that’s when we really started talking and dancing. We ended up spending most of the evening together on the dance floor.

A: My first impression of B was that he had this really positive energy and a very natural charisma. He was easy to talk to, and I remember feeling like the conversation just flowed from the beginning.

B: I quickly got a sense of A’s personality. I knew pretty fast that she was thoughtful, very easy-going, and had a real taste for beautiful things (I might be one of the beautiful things, who knows?). More seriously, I felt comfortable with her almost right away, like we’d already known each other.

What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee, etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).

A: I think what I loved most was actually how everything felt very personal. We didn’t want the wedding to look too polished or overly designed. We wanted it to feel warm, generous and alive, something that looked beautiful but still felt like a party. And, of course, I have to mention the food! Rita and Andrea from Sicilia in Gondola were incredible. They brought this very generous, authentic Sicilian spirit to the dinner, and everything felt incredibly special without feeling overly formal. Their pistachio lasagna was honestly unforgettable!

B: I also loved the way the different elements came together: the setting, the flowers, the tables, the music, the food. It wasn’t about one particular detail, but more about the atmosphere they created together.

What did you enjoy most about the planning process, and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?

A: I really enjoyed the creative part of preparing the wedding. I had a pretty clear idea of the atmosphere and aesthetic we wanted, so I loved looking for people whose work really resonated with us.

We chose most of our vendors individually rather than taking the package offered by the venue. It definitely takes more time, but we wanted to meet each person, understand how they worked, and talk to them about what we had in mind. In the end, I think that’s what made the wedding feel so much like us.

B: If I had to give one piece of advice, I’d say don’t try to do everything. Decide early on what really matters to you as a couple and put your energy and your budget there.

For us, it was the food and the music, because we really wanted the wedding to feel like a celebration and for people to spend most of the evening eating, talking and dancing. And probably give yourselves more time than you think you need. There are always more little decisions than you expect.

Tell us about your vendors. Were there any standout suppliers you would like to make special mention of?

A: We’d especially like to thank our photographers, Caroline and her sister Jessica. They were absolutely amazing. We really enjoyed the whole experience of taking the time for the photos. It never felt stiff or overly posed, and somehow they managed to capture both the beautiful moments and the energy of the party.

B: When we look at the photos now, what we love most is that they don’t just show what the wedding looked like. They really bring back how it felt.

A: We’d also like to thank our wedding planner, Lilou. She was such a reassuring presence during those last few days before the wedding, and on the day itself everything ran so smoothly. Having someone you completely trust handling all the little details makes such a difference.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story?

A: I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted my dress to look like. I was very inspired by the simplicity of ’90s wedding dresses, something minimal, elegant and timeless, rather than overly traditional. I wanted to be able to look back at the photos years from now and still feel that it was completely my style. I found it in the work of Alexandra Grecco. When I tried my dress on for the first time, it was one of those very rare moments where you immediately know. I didn’t really feel the need to try anything else afterwards.

B: For the suit, I wanted something special while still staying classic. So I went for an unusual colour, burgundy, in a fabric blending three different materials. I also wanted to stay true to the wedding’s theme, both in the colours and in the cut of the suit.

Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.

A: My engagement ring is from a Parisian brand called Unsaid. It was a real love-at-first-sight moment when I saw it. I loved how delicate it was, but also how distinctive it was; it didn’t feel like a ring I had seen a hundred times before.

B: For my wedding band, I wanted something much more understated, a piece I could wear every day, and that would naturally become part of my life.

What were one or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).

A: We really wanted the wedding to be a very festive celebration. Music was therefore one of the things we were happiest to invest in. We brought a band over from Algeria, and we also had a DJ who regularly plays at Parisian parties.

B: Music was important because we wanted people to really let go and enjoy themselves. We didn’t want the evening to feel like a succession of formal moments. We wanted it to gradually turn into a proper party.

A: And food was the other big priority for us. We’re both very passionate about food, so it felt natural to invest in that too. At the end of the day, those are the things people experience

Was there a favourite moment (or two) that you will treasure always?

A: My favourite moment was our surprise arrival by boat on the Seine. There was something quite magical about seeing everyone waiting for us from the water. It felt like we were entering our own celebration, almost like a little pause before the rest of the evening began.

B: That moment was definitely one of the most memorable, of course. But there’s another one I loved just as much: the morning we were getting ready at the hotel. It was just us. It felt like the calm before the storm. We were excited and nervous at the same time, already picturing how the whole day would unfold in our heads. I can’t quite explain it, but that moment stayed with me in a special way.

What does being married mean to you, and are there any special rituals you have that you would like to share?

A: One of our favourite rituals is going to our café in Montmartre on the weekend. We’ve been going there for years, and it has become a little bit of our headquarters. We sit there, have coffee, talk about our future plans, or just talk about absolutely nothing. It’s the kind of place where we feel completely at home.

B: We also try to have a surprise date every month. One of us plans something and the other doesn’t know what it is. Sometimes it’s something very simple, sometimes it’s something completely new, but we like the idea of continuing to surprise each other.

A: I think marriage, for us, hasn’t really changed who we are. It’s more like a deeper version of what was already there.

B: It’s a commitment, of course, but it’s also a way of saying, “This is the person I want to keep discovering life with.” And I think that’s what we like most about it: knowing that there are still so many things ahead of us that we haven’t experienced yet.