Michelle and Jake came to Paris late spring, several months before their elopement in Provence. We planned an afternoon that would take us from the intimacy and charm of the Hôtel Alfred Sommier to the extraordinary scale of Château de Sceaux, with Paris, fashion, architecture, and the fleeting cherry blossoms becoming part of the story.
Rather than build the session around the familiar landmarks of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, or the Seine, we wanted to explore a side of Paris and its surroundings that felt less expected.
Hôtel Alfred Sommier – The Beginning of an Inspired Afternoon
We began Michelle and Jake’s Paris engagement session at Hôtel Alfred Sommier, a private 19th-century mansion in the heart of the city. Behind its courtyard, the hotel feels remarkably removed from the pace of Paris, with marble staircases, wrought iron, sculpture, and the original architectural details of the historic residence.
It was an extraordinary setting for the beginning of the afternoon. Michelle wore a voluminous pink tulle gown by Millia London, its layers filling the marble staircase and creating a striking contrast against the restrained Napoleon III architecture. We photographed throughout the interiors before making our way to the rooftop, where the view opens across the zinc rooftops of Paris toward the Eiffel Tower and, in the distance, Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur.
What I loved most was the range the hotel gave us without ever leaving the property: the grandeur and symmetry of the staircase, the historic architectural character, and then Michelle’s pink tulle that shifted with the sun and wind in the Paris skyline. Each setting felt distinctly different, yet unmistakably Parisian.
Beginning at Hôtel Alfred Sommier also gave Michelle and Jake time to settle into the afternoon together for some cinematic photographs before we left the city for Château de Sceaux. Rather than beginning at a crowded landmark, we started somewhere private and personal, photographing the two of them in a setting where the architecture, fashion and their connection could all become part of the story.
Moving Through the City – Exploring the Gardens at Château de Sceaux
My background in art history inevitably influences the places I am drawn to photograph. Architecture, landscape, proportion, light, and history all matter to me, particularly when choosing a setting that can become part of the photographs rather than simply a backdrop.
For Michelle and Jake, we wanted something different from the Paris engagement photographs everyone has seen before. After beginning the afternoon at Hôtel Alfred Sommier, we left central Paris for Château de Sceaux, an extraordinary public park estate just outside the city that remains surprisingly unfamiliar to many visitors.
Michelle had changed from the dramatic pink Millia London gown she wore at Hôtel Alfred Sommier into a softer blush dress, and the change completely shifted the feeling of the photographs. We wandered through the gardens, stopped along the fountains and allées, and eventually reached the cherry grove at the very end of its season. Most of the blossoms had already fallen.
Instead of losing what we had come for, the fallen petals gave us something far more interesting. They covered the grass in pink, catching in Michelle’s dress and hair as she and Jake lay beneath the trees. Spring in Paris is fleeting, and these photographs preserve that very specific moment when one season was already beginning to disappear.
Few places near Paris offer this combination of monumental architecture and expansive landscape. Long allées cut through the gardens, fountains stretch into the distance, sculpted hedges frame the château, and paths disappear beneath enormous canopies of trees. The gardens were designed in part by André Le Nôtre, the landscape architect behind the gardens of Versailles, and that same fascination with symmetry, perspective, and scale is everywhere.
Few photo locations throughout Paris offer the seclusion and atmosphere of Château de Sceaux. It’s a side of Paris that feels personal and unexpected. Yet, for all its grandeur, Sceaux gave us some of the most intimate photographs of the day.
That is part of what I love about photographing in France. The landscape, architecture, and history can give a photograph tremendous scale, but the photograph still comes down to the intimacy and connection of the people within it. Against the formality of Château de Sceaux, Michelle and Jake were affectionate, playful and completely absorbed in one another. And just months before their wedding in Provence, there was something especially fitting about photographing them surrounded by the last traces of spring in France.
Spring in Paris is ephemeral, connecting you to the beauty of the season, in the moment just before it disappears. Organic elements on the grounds of the chateau become compositional backdrops, highlighting the beauty of France that we experienced.
That afternoon at Château de Sceaux, capturing engagement photos, the fallen petals of the cherry blossoms were a nod to transition. The cycling of the seasons in a city known for its beauty, and Michele and Jake’s arrival ahead of their wedding in Provence.
Working with a Paris Engagement Photographer to Plan Your Session
A Paris engagement session does not have to mean following a prescribed route from the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre and the Seine. Those places can be extraordinary, but Paris and its surroundings offer so much more.
I divide my time between New York, Connecticut, and Luxembourg, which gives me the opportunity to photograph throughout Paris and France regularly and to continue discovering locations beyond the familiar landmarks. I love building a session around the couple’s aesthetic preferences: where they are staying, what they are drawn to, what they want to wear, and the architecture, gardens, museums or landscapes that will make the experience feel distinctly theirs.
For Michelle and Jake, that meant beginning privately at Hôtel Alfred Sommier, crossing the city and eventually leaving it behind for the extraordinary scale of Château de Sceaux. Two very different settings, two dresses and one afternoon that felt completely their own.
Thank you to Coco of Travellur Weddings and her team for bringing everyone together on that Spring afternoon in Paris.
Wedding Photographer in Paris
Whether you’re planning engagement photos, a proposal, or a wedding in Paris, the French Countryside, Luxembourg, or the surrounding countries in Europe, I’d love to hear from you. Click here to contact me.
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