Moodboard first. Real life after.
References gave us a starting point. The wedding itself decided what happened next.
ParisWedding Editorial No. 01
Editorial Wedding Photographer ParisTwo days.
One Paris story.
Two days, two iconic Paris addresses, one visual story — from Maison Baccarat after dark to a full-scale celebration at Shangri-La Paris.
Paris, France · Two-day wedding
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01 — The wedding story
A private two-day editorial wedding in Paris
Two days. Two very different moods. Around 60 guests at Maison Baccarat on day one, then approximately 120 guests at Shangri-La Paris for day two. The photography followed that shift — quieter, more intimate frames at first, then bigger rooms, more movement, more flash and a lot more energy.
Privacy shaped the public edit. At the couple’s request, I cannot publish photographs in which the bride, groom or guests can be clearly identified. So this story focuses on what I can show: the clothes, the flowers, the rooms, the performances, the light and the atmosphere. The complete gallery remains private.
Behind the scenes, the scale called for a full team: me, a photo assistant, a second shooter and a third shooter. Enough coverage to be everywhere we needed to be — without making the wedding feel like a production set.
Day one took place at Maison Baccarat, 11 Place des États-Unis, Paris 16e. Day two moved to Shangri-La Paris, 10 Avenue d’Iéna, from the upper event level down into the hotel’s historic reception salons.
For more on the second venue, explore my Shangri-La Paris wedding photographer page or my guide to getting married at Shangri-La Paris.
02 — Before the wedding
Planning a Fashion-Led
Wedding Story in Paris.
The wedding didn’t start with the first photograph. It started weeks earlier — with references, ideas, a moodboard and a very clear feeling of what they wanted.
The couple sent me a detailed inspiration board before the weekend. The direction was clear: fashion-forward, yes — but never at the expense of family, friends or the moments that actually matter.
The bride also shared a selection of images she wanted us to keep in mind: specific details, portraits, family combinations and a few visual references. I treated them as a creative compass, not a rigid shot list. The plan had to leave room for real life.
And there was a lot of real life. The private gallery includes guests, family, group photographs and moments that cannot appear here because of the couple’s privacy wishes. What you see publicly is only one layer of the weekend.
Lighting followed the same idea: natural light when it worked, flash when it changed the energy. For the more constructed images, my second shooter and lighting assistant helped me move fast, shape the frame and get the shot without turning five minutes into twenty.
Fashion, but make it personal.
Beautiful portraits mattered. So did parents, friends, group photographs and everything in between.
Soft light. Hard flash.
Window light for atmosphere. Direct flash when the frame needed more edge, movement or attitude.
More eyes. Less interruption.
A second shooter and lighting assistant meant we could build stronger images while the rest of the story kept moving.
Editorial Wedding Photographer ParisTwo DaysBaccaratParisShangri-La ParisFashion-led Wedding PhotographyEditorial Wedding Photographer ParisTwo DaysBaccaratParis
03 — The visual story
Editorial Wedding Photography in Paris
— The Visual Story.
A curated edit from the same two-day Paris wedding — bridal fashion, reception design, live entertainment, architecture and atmosphere, published without showing identifiable faces, in accordance with the couple’s privacy wishes.
Morning detail · Paris
Modern bride · Editorial portrait
Monochrome · Bridal portrait
Fashion detail
Accessories · Editorial
Bridal detail · Paris
Luxury details
Wedding details
Red florals · Reception
Table design · Paris
Dinner · Red floral story
Welcome party · Cocktails
Celebration detail
Fashion story · Bride
Editorial bride · Paris
Bridal portrait · Monochrome
Bride + dog · Paris
Vintage car · Paris
Eiffel Tower · Vintage car
Ring detail · Editorial
Wedding dress · Movement
Paris venue · Interior detail
Wedding dress · Floral installation
Reception · Champagne service
Shangri-La Paris · Performance
Performance · Black and white
Shangri-La Paris · Wedding cake
Party · Direct-flash performance
Reception energy · Monochrome
Shangri-La Paris · Pink feathers
Shangri-La Paris · Performance detail
Shangri-La Paris · Gold performance
Shangri-La Paris · Evening performance
Shangri-La Paris · Historic salons
Shangri-La Paris · Dinner design
Shangri-La Paris · Table detail
Shangri-La Paris · Historic interior
Bride · Editorial portrait
White detail · Texture
Floral installation · White
Paris wedding · Lifestyle detail
Getting ready · Wedding dog
Paris interior · Editorial setting
Bridal fashion · Gown detail
Reception table · White florals
Fashion performance · Red floral
Live performance · Paris wedding
Bridal couture · Beading detail
Bridal couture · Corset detail
Getting ready · Bridal gowns
Bridal silhouette · Historic salon
Structured when it needs to be. Unscripted when it matters.
04 — Day one · Maison Baccarat
Day One:
Maison Baccarat
After Dark.
Sixty guests. One long table. Red flowers, candlelight, crystal everywhere — and live violinists as the room filled.
Day one took over Maison Baccarat, the historic hôtel particulier at 11 Place des États-Unis. The guest count was intimate enough to keep the evening personal, but the room still had real scale — exactly the kind of setting where details, reactions and atmosphere are all happening at once.
The mood was immediate: deep interiors, sculptural red flowers, candlelight and Baccarat crystal catching everything around it. Early frames were quieter and more composed. As dinner moved on, the pace changed — more movement, more direct flash, more instinct.
≈ 60 guestsMaison BaccaratLive violinistsFull photo team
Maison Baccarat: A Historic Paris Wedding Venue
Maison Baccarat is not a conventional hotel ballroom. The townhouse at 11 Place des États-Unis was one of the addresses associated with the Parisian cultural avant-garde of the 1920s. Baccarat took over the private residence in 2003, and the Maison continues to mix crystal, art, design and gastronomy in a way that feels closer to a private cultural house than a classic wedding venue.
Maison Baccarat — official history ↗The Salle de Bal at Maison Baccarat
The Maison’s Salle de Bal is its dedicated private-event room, framed by Baccarat chandeliers and the original woodwork of the hôtel particulier. Officially designed for up to 76 seated guests, it suited this sixty-person first day especially well: one strong room, one clear table composition and enough space for music and movement.
Four people. One story.
I photographed the weekend with a photo assistant, a second shooter and a third shooter. Not to flood the gallery with more images, but to cover different things at the same time: the untouched room, a family reaction, a portrait, a performance, a transition. More eyes, fewer interruptions.
At the couple’s request, this public gallery does not show identifiable faces of the bride, groom or guests. So this is the world around the wedding — design, fashion, architecture, performance and atmosphere — while the full story stays private.
05 — Day two · Shangri-La Paris
Day Two:
Shangri-La Paris.
Bigger Energy.
Day two changed everything. Twice the guests, bigger rooms, more movement — and a completely different energy.
Approximately 120 guests arrived at Shangri-La Paris. The day opened upstairs in the Salon Roland Bonaparte, where a dramatic floral installation and arch gave the room its first visual hit.
Later, everyone moved downstairs into the Salons Historiques: Le Grand Salon, Le Salon de Famille and La Salle à Manger. Upstairs was about arrival and scale. Downstairs was dinner, performance and the part of the night where the energy really took over.
≈ 120 guestsSalon Roland BonaparteSalons HistoriquesDance performances + live music
Salon Roland Bonaparte
Shangri-La Paris lists the Salon Roland Bonaparte on level two, with around 250 m² of event space. The room occupies what were once the stables of Prince Roland Bonaparte’s residence. For this wedding it worked as the opening stage of the day, pairing palace scale with a cleaner, more contemporary backdrop for the floral arch and arriving guests.
Shangri-La event spaces ↗The Historic Salons at Shangri-La Paris
Dinner continued one level below in Shangri-La Paris’s historic reception rooms. Le Grand Salon, Le Salon de Famille and La Salle à Manger communicate with one another and open toward the first-floor gallery and terrace. The Grand Salon was once Prince Roland Bonaparte’s own reception room; in 1907, the engagement of his daughter Marie to Prince George of Greece and Denmark was celebrated there.
When dinner became a show.
Several dance groups appeared through the night, alongside a live band and DJ. At that point the photography changed with the room: less symmetry, more bodies in motion, costume, color, direct flash and fast reactions. Think wedding reception meets fashion after-party.
From Prince Roland to Shangri-La
The palace at 10 Avenue d’Iéna was the residence of Prince Roland Bonaparte in 1896 and a meeting place for Parisian society. After restoration by architect Richard Martinet, it opened as Shangri-La Paris 114 years later. The building has been listed as a French Monument Historique since 2009 and today holds the Palace distinction.
Shangri-La Paris — official history ↗Historic bones. Current energy.
Shangri-La works because the architecture already does the heavy lifting. Historic mouldings, huge proportions and the Eiffel Tower outside the windows give every frame context. That leaves room for flash, fashion and movement to make the photographs feel current instead of overly traditional.
Two venues. Two moods. One weekend.
Maison Baccarat was darker, tighter and more intimate. Shangri-La opened everything up: palace architecture, twice the guests and a full performance-driven night. The contrast is what made the weekend work visually — same couple, same story, completely different rhythm.
06 — The point of view
“Paris, without the cliché.
Fashion energy. Real wedding.”
07 — Inside the approach
Editorial Wedding Photography in Paris:
What Actually Matters.
The stuff behind the photographs: direction, real moments, privacy, flash, team size — and why none of it should make the wedding feel staged.
What does “editorial” actually mean at a wedding?
It means borrowing the best parts of fashion photography — strong composition, light, styling and direction — without turning the day into a campaign shoot. Some frames are built carefully. Others happen in seconds. The point is polish without losing the actual wedding.
Editorial or documentary? Both.
Some portraits need direction. Reactions, speeches, family moments and the party usually do not. I want both in the same gallery. The real skill is knowing when to build the frame — and when to get out of the way.
How do you photograph a private wedding without showing everything?
By separating coverage from publication. I photographed the couple, guests, family groups and portraits throughout the weekend; the public edit simply follows the couple’s privacy rules. Discretion should never mean photographing less. It means being very clear about what stays private.
Why bring a bigger photography team?
Because big weddings have parallel stories. While I am photographing a portrait, someone else can catch the room before guests enter or a reaction happening somewhere else. A larger team is not about volume. It is about coverage without slowing everyone down.
Why flash?
Because sometimes soft light is exactly right — and sometimes the frame needs more bite. Window light can feel quiet and tactile. Direct flash can turn movement, details and late-night chaos into something sharper and more immediate. The contrast gives the gallery rhythm.
Why does Paris work so well for this style?
Because the city already brings the visual language. Maison Baccarat gives you crystal, dark wood and intimacy. Shangri-La Paris gives you monumental rooms, historic salons and the Eiffel Tower outside the windows. Paris is already in the frame — there is no need to force it.
Key places in this story · Maison Baccarat · Salle de Bal · Shangri-La Paris · Salon Roland Bonaparte · Le Grand Salon · Le Salon de Famille · La Salle à Manger · Paris, France
08 — The creative team
The Creative Team
Behind the Paris Wedding.
Two days, two venues and a lot of moving parts. The creative team was built to keep everything ambitious, coordinated and discreet from start to finish.
- Planning & Design
- @giritaly
- Photography
- @jeremy.froeliger
- Second shooter
- @latelierplez.weddings
- Third shooter
- @hauteparisevents
- Photo assistant
- @mickael.romero_
- Day one venue
- @ducassebaccarat
- Flowers
- @laraahdab
- Music
- @mrks_music
- DJ
- @dj_med
09 — Editorial wedding photography
Editorial Wedding Photography in Paris — Without Turning It Into a Fashion Shoot
The goal is not to spend the day posing. It is to know exactly when a photograph needs direction — a cleaner frame, stronger posture, harder flash — and when the best thing I can do is disappear.
Paris makes that balance easier. Hotel interiors, architecture, streets and evening light already bring character. The city can be present without every photograph needing to scream “Paris”.
That is the mix I look for: images with intention, alongside the moments nobody could have planned.
10 — Photography service
Editorial Wedding Photographer in Paris
for Fashion-Led Celebrations.
You can love fashion photography and still want your wedding to feel like a wedding. That is exactly the balance I look for when photographing international couples in Paris: strong images, real people, zero pressure to perform all day.
For a destination wedding in Paris or a multi-day celebration, the work starts before the camera comes out — moodboard, key photographs, family groups, venue access, timing and light. On the day, I switch between natural light and direct flash, give direction when it helps, and step back when the moment is already better than anything I could stage.
Explore my complete Paris wedding photographer approach, compare Paris palace wedding venues, or use my guide to planning a wedding in France from abroad.
04 — More photography at Shangri-La Paris
Editorial weddings in Paris