Paris Elopement Photographer: A Sunrise to Evening Plan

A Paris elopement photographer plans your day around two things: an early start at the landmarks before the crowds arrive, and a symbolic ceremony, because most American couples cannot marry legally in France on a short trip. You sign the legal papers at home, then exchange vows in Paris with only the two of you, or a handful of guests, and the city as your venue.

The legal reason is residence. French civil marriage takes place at the town hall of the commune where one of you lives, and the official French administration site, service-public.fr, states that a residence must be established by at least one month of continuous living there by the date the banns are published. The banns are then posted for 10 days before the wedding can take place. For a couple flying in from New York or Los Angeles for a week, that is not realistic, so the paperwork happens at your county clerk's office and Paris gets the vows, the portraits and the dinner.

Konstantyn Zakhariy and Mariya Gritsak are based at Lake Como and travel to France for weddings and elopements; you can see the light and pace of a day in the city in our Paris elopement gallery. A symbolic ceremony has no legal effect, which is exactly what makes it free: you choose the words, the place and the hour. Our guide to how a symbolic ceremony works was written for Lake Como, but the structure of the vows and the role of a celebrant are the same in Paris.

This article walks through a sunrise to evening route, the permission rules that apply to a professional shoot in Paris, what to do if it rains, and how to add Lake Como to the same trip.

The single most useful decision is the start time. In Paris the sun rises at about 5:46 am in mid June, around 7:07 am at the start of September and 7:48 am by the end of September, and around 7:27 am on 1 April. We usually meet you about 40 minutes before sunrise, in blue light, so that the first portraits happen while the Trocadéro esplanade is still mostly empty.

Sunrise: Trocadéro and Bir Hakeim. The esplanade at the Trocadéro looks straight across the Seine to the Eiffel Tower, and it is the view most couples picture first. After sunrise it fills with tour groups and vendors, so it comes first in the plan. A short walk down the river, the Bir Hakeim bridge gives you the tower framed by the iron colonnade of the upper metro deck, line 6 passing above, and a quieter second set of portraits while the light is still low and warm.

Morning: the Seine and the Louvre side. Pont Alexandre III, with its gilded statues and lamps, works well in soft morning light, and the quays along the river give you walking frames with stone and water. Crossing toward the Right Bank, the arcades of the Palais Royal are calm early in the day and offer shade, stone and long perspectives.

Midday: the ceremony and a pause. Many couples hold the vows late in the morning, when the city is awake but not yet at its busiest, then eat lunch and rest at the hotel. Midday light in summer is hard and flat on pale stone, so this is the natural break.

Evening: golden hour and the sparkle. Sunset in mid June is close to 9:55 pm, and around 8:04 pm in mid September, so summer evenings are long. We use the last hour for the Île Saint Louis and the river, then dinner, then the Eiffel Tower after dark, when it sparkles for five minutes at the start of each hour. The time of the final show of the night has changed over the years, so we check the official schedule for your date.

Paris treats photography in public space differently depending on where you stand, how many people are working and what equipment you bring. The City of Paris explains that for a crew of fewer than 10 people filming in the streets, only police authorization is needed, and that a simple declaration covers streets and bridges when the equipment is light. An elopement with two photographers and a couple stays on the light side of that line: handheld cameras, no lighting rigs blocking a pavement, no vehicles parked for the shoot.

Parks, gardens and monuments are separate. The city's filming FAQ states that shooting in a garden, a park or the Bois de Boulogne requires authorization and usually fees, and that the Jardin des Tuileries is one of the green spaces the city does not manage. The Louvre stated publicly in 2022 that filming at the pyramid requires its prior authorization. In practice this means we keep the ceremony itself off monument property unless the managing body has said yes in writing, and we use the courtyards and gardens for brief, discreet portraits within visitor rules, or leave them out.

Drones are out. The city states that drone filming in Paris is strictly prohibited without a derogation from the Préfecture de police, and only professional companies authorized by the French civil aviation authority may apply, at least 10 working days ahead. For an elopement, we plan without aerial shots.

Private property needs consent. A hotel terrace with a tower view, a restaurant salon or a rooftop is private space, so the ceremony there is agreed with the owner, who sets the hour and any fee. This is often the calmest choice for the vows themselves, because nobody walks through your ceremony.

Weather backups. Paris rain tends to come and go, so the backup is a route, not a cancellation. The Palais Royal arcades and the city's covered passages keep you dry while still looking like Paris, and wet cobbles after a shower often photograph better than a clear sky. For the vows, a booked indoor space at your hotel or restaurant means the ceremony time never depends on the forecast.

How much coverage you need. Most Paris elopements we plan use either a half day built around sunrise and the ceremony, or a full day that runs from blue hour to the evening sparkle with the midday break in between. If your vows sit in the late morning, sunrise portraits and the ceremony fit together; if you want the evening tower, the day becomes longer and the break matters more.

Paris and Lake Como in one trip. A direct flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Milan Malpensa takes about an hour and a half, which makes the pairing easy. Some couples elope in Paris and then hold a welcome dinner or a full celebration with family at Lake Como; others do the reverse, marrying at the lake and adding a couple session in Paris on the way home. Our guide to eloping at Lake Como covers the Italian side, and if the sea suits you more than the city, read about eloping on the Amalfi Coast instead.

When you want a chateau, not a city. Some couples start with an elopement and realize they want a full day with family and a long dinner. Château de Santeny sits about 22 km from the heart of Paris in the southeastern suburbs, roughly 30 minutes by car from Orly airport, and a venue listing describes dinners in its salons for groups from 30 to 160 guests. We photographed Cristina and Remy's day there, which you can see in a wedding at Chateau de Santeny. Smaller dinners than the listed minimum are a question to put to the venue directly.

We photograph a limited number of weddings and elopements each year, and we travel from Lake Como for each one. Full wedding days start from 7,000 EUR net, with VAT added, and couple and engagement sessions start from 1,800 EUR, so a Paris session on the way to or from an Italian wedding is a simple addition. Tell us your dates, the hour you would like for the vows and whether Lake Como is part of the trip, and check your date with us; we will suggest a route that fits the light in your month.

Can Americans legally get married in Paris?

Only if one of you meets the French residence rule. Service-public.fr states that a residence must be established by at least one month of continuous living in the commune by the date the banns are published, and the banns are then posted for 10 days. Most couples marry legally at home and hold a symbolic ceremony in Paris.

What time should we start to avoid crowds at the Eiffel Tower and Trocadéro?

Plan to arrive about 40 minutes before sunrise. That means roughly 5:05 am in mid June and around 6:30 am in early September. The Trocadéro esplanade fills quickly once tour groups arrive, so it comes first in the route.

Do we need a permit for a ceremony or photos in a Paris public place?

For a small crew with light equipment in the streets and on bridges, the city's rules are light, but parks, gardens, the Tuileries and monuments such as the Louvre pyramid have their own authorization rules. We keep the vows on private property or in a quiet public spot and plan the route around what each location allows.

What happens if it rains on our Paris elopement day?

We switch to covered routes such as the Palais Royal arcades and the covered passages, and use breaks in the rain for the river and the bridges. A booked indoor room for the vows keeps the ceremony time fixed whatever the forecast.

How far is Chateau de Santeny from central Paris?

About 22 km, in the southeastern suburbs, with Orly airport roughly 30 minutes away by car. It suits couples who want a full chateau wedding near Paris rather than an elopement in the city.

Can we combine a Paris elopement with Lake Como in one trip?

Yes. A direct flight from Paris to Milan Malpensa takes about an hour and a half, and Lake Como is a short drive from Milan. Many couples elope in Paris and celebrate with family at the lake, or the other way around.