This wonderful little family features mischievous 3 year-old twins Emily and Margo, and their long suffering older sister Betsy 🙂 They were living in Paris for a couple of months, and as their grandma was visiting from the States it was the perfect time for a photo shoot. I had such a lovely time getting to know this family and am so grateful to them for working with me!
The day after Hanna and Johan got married in Paris we decided to have a second, even more relaxed photo shoot near where they were staying in the colourful 20th arrondissement. This disused railway line skirts around the outer edge Paris and has been abandoned since 1934. There are rumours it’s going to be turned into a public park soon, so we were glad to be able to sneak in whilst it was still overrun by wild vegetation and colourful graffiti – perfectly suited to Hanna & Johan’s personalities!
Hanna and Johan are a super quirky couple from Sweden who decided they didn’t want the fuss of a big wedding, and opted instead for a small, simple ceremony at the Swedish Embassy in Paris. They didn’t even want the ceremony documented but just wanted to have some photos taken in a non-touristy part of Paris to remember the day. So we met at the Canal St Martin for some lovely couples portraits, and then met their gorgeous little girl Henny, along with Hanna’s mum and Johan’s dad for a family shoot at the nearby Parc des Buttes-Chaumont.
These guys have great chemistry and wouldn’t stop laughing throughout the shoot! We met up again the following day for some even more relaxed portraits along an old abandoned railway – part 2 to follow!
15 girls from Northern Ireland + 1950s frocks + ice-cream + Paris = the best hen party ever!
I absolutely loved this day so much! The lovely Denise worked with me to plan a surprise photo shoot during her sister Mary-Jo’s Paris hen (or bachelorette) party. Mary-Jo had no idea what was going on, only that she had to wear a white 1950s style dress. She was blown away when I turned up and she saw the effort that all the girls had gone to and their gorgeous frocks. We had so much fun, including a Marilyn Monroe moment in front of the Moulin Rouge, shocking some nuns in the Marais and gorging on yummy Berthillon ice-creams along the Seine.
The girls looked amazing, turning many heads in Paris along the way. They were also an absolute pleasure to work with and made it a very memorable shoot 🙂
I’m already missing all my Paris couples so much! This is Pacifica and David who have been living in France for several years, and recently got married in the States.
Their shoot was particularly special for me as theirs was the last couples shoot I did whilst based in Paris, and they are very good friends with Alix and John, who were one of my first Paris couples last year! It rounded off my time in Paris perfectly, and I’ll be forever grateful to each and every client who made the experience so wonderful for me 🙂
Leslie and Alan got married back home in Costa Rica, and came to Paris for their honeymoon. As they are both training to become medical doctors they asked me if it as possible to have their love shoot at an old or abandoned hospital site. I absolutely love trying something new and off the beaten track so was very excited when I found the gorgeous grounds of the Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière.
It has some pretty interesting history too – it began life in the 17th century as a gunpowder factory, but then became an asylum (read: prison) for prostitutes or any female labelled ‘hysterical’, and eventually a general dumping ground for criminals, orphans, disabled people, the impoverished, Jews etc. Finally in the 19th century a programme of humanitarian reforms and mental health care began under Doctor Pinel. You can read more about its fascinating history here
Today it’s a teaching hospital with grounds open to the public – so if you want to do something a bit different whilst you are in Paris I highly recommend a visit.
An American girl met an Irish boy and the rest, as they say, is history 🙂
Congratulations to Rachael and Keith on their engagement! Here’s their summer Parisian love shoot which hopefully brings back some lovely memories
xx
I’ve been hoping to do a shoot at the Parc des Buttes Chaumont for a while now, and was so excited when Melda and Matt wanted to show off their baby bump here! It’s a large park in the north-eastern suburbs, and quite different to the symmetrical and highly manicured gardens you get in central Paris. It’s so beautiful, especially first thing in the morning when apart from a few keen joggers and people doing Tai Chi you can pretty much have the whole place to yourself! An interesting fact I learned was that the suspension bridge was designed by Gustave Eiffel, perhaps better known for a certain iron lattice tower in the west!
Natural environments like this are perfect for maternity shoots as they look and feel so organic and grounding. Melda looked ethereal in her beautiful white dress, channelling her inner earth-mother goddess. Their first baby will be a little boy and is due in July 🙂
Kayla and Travis weren’t thrilled by the idea of a big traditional wedding back home in Alabama, so instead wrote their own vows and traveled to Paris, alone, intending to read them out in an intimate setting.
They chose the Palais Royale for their vow exchange, a building with beautiful architecture, interesting sculptures, and never packed with tourists despite its central location near the Louvre. I thought it would be perfect.
However during their vows construction work started behind us and it was so loud I feared it was ruining their special moment. When I apologised to them afterwards they said they hadn’t even heard it. I love the fact that they were so focused on each other that nothing else mattered in that moment. Not the rain, not the noise, and not even me standing right there as they cried and kissed and embraced. What an honour to be a part of it.
Congratulations Kayla and Travis xx
Danny proposed to Loretta in front of the Eiffel Tower in the morning, and then this super adventurous couple from New York wanted to do something a bit different for the second part of their engagement shoot!
Inspired by one of their favourite movies AmĂ©lie, they hired a vespa and bravely weaved through the Paris traffic to meet me at the CafĂ© des Deux Moulins in Montmarte – fans of AmĂ©lie will recognise this as her workplace!
It was so much fun zipping around the hills on Montmarte on their scooter, definitely the best way to travel in Paris!
Congratulations Danny & Loretta x
