1) Schedule your Paris elopement at the beginning of your trip, rather than towards the end.
2) Plan for jet lag, arrive in Paris at least 2 days before your elopement.
3) Stay central. Location is everything and public transport in Paris is not good.
2) Plan for jet lag, arrive in Paris at least 2 days before your elopement.
3) Stay central. Location is everything and public transport in Paris is not good.
"It’s something when a couple wants to dive into our knowledge base and is ready to plan their elopement with us. I like that! Hi, how are you doing today?"
Article by — Tim
planned 300 elopements in Paris
popular mistake to avoid: adrenaline blur
how to plan the trip
What often happens is that a couple plans a big, packed Euro trip with multiple countries, cities, and destinations, including Paris. They plan just 1-3 days per city. By the time their wedding day arrives, they’re already exhausted from all the traveling. Running on little sleep, they go through the elopement day in a fog. The whole experience becomes two things:
They dream of a perfect honeymoon and wedding in Paris but end up with an exhausting marathon of cities and museums.
Why does this happen? It usually comes down to one of these four things:
Did you know that there’s such a thing as a "dopamine overdose," where you become less sensitive to exciting things? It’s like going to Disneyland for the first time: on the first day, you’re thrilled about everything. By day two, you're only 80% as excited, and by day three, it’s down to 40%, and you start feeling a bit tired.
Here are two ways to avoid that:
→ The ideal solution: Make it just an elopement trip, focused on Paris. Spend a full week there—5 to 7 days. Have your wedding on the second or third day, then explore Paris’s museums and landmarks. You won’t be overtired. If you want, you can plan a Cote d'Azur road trip or a visit to Venice at the end.
→ A more realistic solution that still works: Schedule your Paris wedding at the start of your trip. Make Paris your first destination, get married, and then head to places like Amsterdam, Rome, London, or Switzerland afterward.
Remember, this doesn’t have to be your last chance to travel! You don’t need to cram in every possible destination. You can always return to Italy or London next year.
Already booked a trip with multiple stops before Paris? No worries. Just try to relax more, skip some excursions, and save your energy for your big day.
- An endless rush
- A blur of adrenaline
Why does this happen? It usually comes down to one of these four things:
- The couple is overly excited about the trip and tries to squeeze in everything they want.
- They’re inexperienced travelers and believe that visiting 3 countries in 5 days will be easy and relaxing.
- They have a lot of money to spend and want to fit it all into one trip.
- There’s a common belief that since flights to Europe are long, it’s better to visit several countries to make the most of it.
Here are two ways to avoid that:
→ The ideal solution: Make it just an elopement trip, focused on Paris. Spend a full week there—5 to 7 days. Have your wedding on the second or third day, then explore Paris’s museums and landmarks. You won’t be overtired. If you want, you can plan a Cote d'Azur road trip or a visit to Venice at the end.
→ A more realistic solution that still works: Schedule your Paris wedding at the start of your trip. Make Paris your first destination, get married, and then head to places like Amsterdam, Rome, London, or Switzerland afterward.
Remember, this doesn’t have to be your last chance to travel! You don’t need to cram in every possible destination. You can always return to Italy or London next year.
Already booked a trip with multiple stops before Paris? No worries. Just try to relax more, skip some excursions, and save your energy for your big day.
popular mistake to avoid: not enough time to actually celebrate
We understand that not everyone has more than two weeks of vacation per year, and it can be hard to take time off from work. But if you have some extra vacation days, please hear us out.
What often happens? A couple plans to spend just three days in Paris. On the first day, they arrive and check into their hotel. The second day is for the elopement. The third day is packed with tours and shopping, and they plan to leave right after. Then suddenly, rain is forecasted for their wedding day and the day after. The couple doesn’t have enough days to postpone, so they end up getting married in terrible, not-camera-friendly weather. Or even worse, their luggage with the wedding dress gets lost by the airline and takes four days to be delivered. Since they only have three days, the wedding can’t happen at all.
But weather and lost luggage aren't the only risks. The couple may also get overtired. Knowing they only have three days in Paris, with one day set aside for the wedding, they try to pack everything into the first day. They take a 5-hour walking tour to visit all the famous landmarks, then go to a restaurant and find it too tempting to leave. They stay until 11 PM, return to the hotel at midnight, but have to wake up at 4 AM for their wedding day.
→ The ideal solution: Plan to stay in Paris for at least 4 to 5 days. This gives you enough time for flexibility in case of bad weather or other delays. An ideal plan might look like this:
Day 1: Arrive and check in
Day 2: Explore Paris, adjust to jetlag, steam wedding outfits
Day 3: Elopement
Days 4, 5, 6: Backup days in case of bad weather, plus endless activities to enjoy
This approach allows you to relax and truly savor your special day without the stress of rushing.
What often happens? A couple plans to spend just three days in Paris. On the first day, they arrive and check into their hotel. The second day is for the elopement. The third day is packed with tours and shopping, and they plan to leave right after. Then suddenly, rain is forecasted for their wedding day and the day after. The couple doesn’t have enough days to postpone, so they end up getting married in terrible, not-camera-friendly weather. Or even worse, their luggage with the wedding dress gets lost by the airline and takes four days to be delivered. Since they only have three days, the wedding can’t happen at all.
But weather and lost luggage aren't the only risks. The couple may also get overtired. Knowing they only have three days in Paris, with one day set aside for the wedding, they try to pack everything into the first day. They take a 5-hour walking tour to visit all the famous landmarks, then go to a restaurant and find it too tempting to leave. They stay until 11 PM, return to the hotel at midnight, but have to wake up at 4 AM for their wedding day.
→ The ideal solution: Plan to stay in Paris for at least 4 to 5 days. This gives you enough time for flexibility in case of bad weather or other delays. An ideal plan might look like this:
Day 1: Arrive and check in
Day 2: Explore Paris, adjust to jetlag, steam wedding outfits
Day 3: Elopement
Days 4, 5, 6: Backup days in case of bad weather, plus endless activities to enjoy
This approach allows you to relax and truly savor your special day without the stress of rushing.
helen: "I ran a poll on our Instagram and asked clients about their biggest elopement regret. The response was: We didn’t have enough free time to enjoy being married. Many couples shared that the day after the elopement was their happiest day, and it’s best not to plan anything for it. They loved waking up late, going with the flow, having a picnic, and simply enjoying being newly married. The worst thing you can do is spend this magical day rushing to catch another train, especially after a night of just four hours of sleep and a migraine."
