For most foreign couples who marry in Paris, it’s symbolic — a “re-wedding” for memories, with the legal ceremony already behind them. This means the venue possibilities for your ceremony in Paris are (almost) endless.
Raph & John held their wedding ceremony at the Synagogue de Tournelles.
While I won’t swear on it, this is likely the last time this series I will mention this: Unless you establish temporary residency by living in Paris for 40 consecutive days, and can provide documentation of this to the city hall, you can’t legally marry in France if a foreigner. In addition, France only legally recognizes wedding ceremonies at city halls; all ceremonies in houses of worship, even for French citizens, are therefore symbolic.
When selecting a ceremony venue, keep in mind the following:
a. Your choice of ceremony venue will have a direct impact on the atmosphere of your entire wedding day (formal, casual, or something in-between).
b. Number of guests it will accommodate.
c. Proximity to your hotel (and guests’, if different) and the reception venue (if different).
d. How will people be getting there? Paris is plentiful in metro stations, but parking…not so much. If everyone is staying in the same hotel, consider renting a coach (bus) to transport everyone.
e. Provide your guests with a map that includes written directions to the ceremony venue, regardless of transportation provided. Suppose someone had a last-minute detail they needed to attend to, and then didn’t know how to get to the ceremony? Also, while it is said that in Paris, you are never more than 10 minutes’ walking distance to a metro stop, you don’t want your guests stressed about feeling lost when they arrive at your ceremony.
f. If you select and are accepted by a house of worship, be sure to ask about their restrictions, especially regarding decorations and dress. Two examples: Not all venues allow confetti, and some houses of worship require women to have their shoulders covered, so an off-the-shoulder wedding dress would not be appropriate.
The groom and his men need a place at the ceremony venue for last-minute preparations as much as the bride and her attendants.
g. Everyone knows the bride likes to have a room for her and her bridesmaids to prepare to walk down the aisle; not everyone understands the groom and his men need one, too. Do you really want the guys to have to straighten their ties and tuck their shirts in in front of guests and vendors?
h. If you hold your ceremony outside in a public place, traffic and tourists walking by will be part of the charm. Be prepared for interesting sites!
So, where to have your wedding ceremony in Paris? Here are three ideas.
1. House of Worship
You can have a symbolic ceremony in a house of worship if you can find one that will grant you permission. Landmarks like Notre Dame can’t be rented as they are national public spaces. Catholic parishes in France generally only allow their own members to marry in their respective churches, and most churches in France are Catholic. That said, if you can find a Catholic church who will grant permission for you to marry in their church, you still have to meet specific requirements: provide a letter from your local priest and Bishop that you are a member of a parish in good standing; Baptism and Confirmation certificates; and a marriage certificate from your civil ceremony.
An interior shot of Synagogue des Tournelles showing the mix of architectural styles common in French Second Empire.
The couple I am featuring for this series, Raph & John, being Jewish, chose to hold their wedding ceremony at the Synagogue de Tournelles. It is located at 21bis rue des Tournelles in Marais, the 4th arrondissement, not far from Notre Dame. The closest metro stop is Bastille. Its architect, Marcellin-Emmanuel Varcollier, designed it in Second French Empire, the architectural style of the time, which is an eclectic mix of European styles, most notably Baroque. Gustave Eiffel was the engineer who oversaw its construction from 1867-1876, before he became famous for building the Eiffel Tower in 1889. Outside, it is decorated with a stained glass rose window with sculptures representing the scrolls of the Law with text in Hebrew. Inside, it is very grand with plentiful seating on two floors and arches on the second floor. By volume, it is the second largest synagogue in Paris. Perhaps due to recent attacks, specific information on the synagogue (such as seating number) was not available when I researched for this post. I suggest you call the synagogue on +33 01 42 74 32 80.
Synagogue de Tournelles is not far from the luxurious Intercontinental Paris Le Grand Hotel, where the couple stayed and held their reception.
This couple married outside near the Eiffel Tower in November 2014. They were oblivious to the group behind them or the girl next to them.
2. Outside a Monument
You can’t rent the inside of Notre Dame or the Eiffel Tower, but you can marry on their grounds. On the plus side, this is the easiest, cheapest, and fastest to arrange. It is also easy for your guests to find. On the down side, you can’t control how tourists and others passing by will behave — nor can you control the weather. It tends to sprinkle a lot in Paris (though not as much as London), so if you decide to marry outside a monument, you should have pretty umbrellas at the ready just in case Mother Nature decides not to cooperate with your ceremony plans.
If you select this option, I highly recommend you visit Paris during the time of year you plan to marry, so you can see just how the ceremony will unfold. It also is a good idea to contact your embassy in Paris near the time of your ceremony to verify they know of no reason why you shouldn’t hold your ceremony at the location of your dreams. (For instance, they might know of a protest coming up.)
A wedding takes place on the Seine River on a beautiful day.
3. Cruise on the Seine River
This would be my choice, so I had to include it, though this option speaks more to a combined ceremony/reception venue. Bateaux Parisiens not only offers glass-enclosed boat tours of the Seine River and dinner cruises, they also offer wedding packages for a minimum of 50 people. According to their website, they hold 400 private events per year, so they have the experience necessary to make sure your event is successful. To that end, they offer an artistic director and event cruise directors dedicated to your event.
If you were to select this option, you first have to decide whether you want an afternoon or evening wedding, and whether you want table service or buffet style. From there, it’s a matter of your choice of menu selection and whether you want extras, such as table decorations that start at 17 euros per table. While you will have to ask for a quote, their gourmet buffets start at 14 euros per person; so figure 14 euros x 50 people = 700 euros ($749.00) as a starting price — not bad for a wedding and reception on the Seine River. (In addition, all of the wedding packages I saw on their website included a piano player and singer as entertainment.) There is parking available nearby at the Musee du Quai Branly.
As I’ve said several times before in posts, my dinner cruise on the Seine River was one of my most memorable experiences of my last trip to Paris — and I wasn’t even getting married!
Au revoir!
I am featuring photos of Raph & John’s wedding in Paris for this series (see above). I want to make it clear that I do not know this couple: I selected their photos from an album on Flickr because I love their theme and the photos are available for use under the CCBY 2.0 license. If I married in Paris, I would want a theme somewhat similar to theirs–in terms of colors and formality.
Black & white image of Raph & John inside Synagogue des Tournelles by Agence Tophos, Flickr, CCBY 2.0. Image of groom ironing by Agence Tophos, Flickr, CCBY 2.0. Image of wedding couple near the Eiffel Tower by Elsa L. Fridl. Image of interior of Synagogue des Tournelles, Wikimedia Commons, GFDL License. Image of wedding on a boat on the Seine River by Becky McCray, Flickr, CCBY 2.0.
