Liza and Ben's Paris Civil Wedding, Shot on Film in Le Marais
A Wedding Morning in Le Marais
For their Paris wedding, Liza and Ben's came with a plan to have a good day and to let the photographs follow. They got ready at home, walked their favorite corners of Le Marais, stopped for fries and a Coke, got married at their civil ceremony in Paris, and finished the night at Rojo. They told me they wanted to feel relaxed, effortless, and asked me to prioritize film photography, wherever possible.
And I photographed almost all of it on film, with a lot of flash. I always provide gentle guidance, and invisible direction to guide my couples, adjusting where needed. But keeping a keen eye out for those candid in-between moments that end up being everyone's favorite moments on their Paris wedding day.
If you're searching for a Paris film photographer or a film wedding photographer who works candidly, but ensures you look good, that is how I work.
Getting ready at home
We started at their apartment as they both got ready. Nobody is performing yet, and the photographs show it. Liza sat on the balcony in soft daylight and buckled her shoes, a pair of vintage Jimmy Choos in pale green satin with a small bow at the toe. They ended up in some of my favorite frames of the day, first on the balcony table and later on the cobblestones.
Liza wore an off-the-shoulder silk top with matching trousers finished with ruffled bows down the hem by UK designer Paula Nadal. Ben wore an ivory jacket with a shawl collar, a white shirt, and black trousers.
Walking through Le Marais
Between getting ready and the ceremony, we walked around the neighborhood. Liza and Ben chose the spots, and they were corners of the 3rd arrondissement they actually know, not a list of landmarks. We stopped at the corner of rue de Poitou and rue Charlot, and again on rue Pastourelle. We also went through the Marché des Enfants Rouges, the covered market, and walked the stalls hand in hand while people went on with their shopping around us.
This is the part of a Paris wedding I enjoy most as a Paris film photographer. The city is so photogenic, you could stop at (almost) any street corner and find a great spot for a photo.
Fries and a Coke before the ceremony
Before Liza and Ben's Paris civil wedding ceremony, we stopped at a classic Parisian café. Glass bottles of Coke poured over ice, and of course, fries. L&B in their wedding attire sitting at a café terrace like it's an ordinary Tuesday, right before their wedding ceremony, is the kind of candid, iconic Paris wedding moment I love capturing, and film photography makes it look incredibly authentic, raw, and present.
The civil ceremony
In France a civil ceremony is a short, formal act, and the room is usually small, but very grand. Ours had stained glass, red velvet chairs, and Liza and Ben's closest loved ones who came for the occasion. I stay quiet and low, and work with the light the room gives me. Film photography with some flash handles that mix well: the cool glass, the warm lamps, the white of the clothes.
Right after the ceremony, I wanted flash photos on the stairs. A mairie staircase is one of the best backdrops for flash on film. The stone and the railing hold the light and give it an edge, and the couple pops out of a dark stairwell the way people do in an old magazine. It's one of the first things I plan for at a civil wedding.
The catch is time. Mairies run their ceremonies back to back, and there's another couple and another family waiting behind you. So we didn't have long. I scouted the stairs before the ceremony when I could, so I already knew where Liza and Ben would stand and which direction the light would fall. Once we were out of the ceremony room, we moved straight there with no warm-up.
A fast flash session suits film well. I only had a limited number of frames, so I made each one count instead of shooting hundreds and sorting it out later. Liza and Ben were relaxed and moved easily, and the pictures look like it. They have the glossy, slightly raw look of flash on film, with a lot of energy.
Reception at Rojo
After the ceremony the party moved to Rojo, one of the coolest cocktail bars in Paris, for the reception. And at Rojo, film wedding photography with flash really had its time to shine. The light is low and warm, the room is full of people who love the couple, and nobody is waiting for a formal moment. Everyone is just talking, drinking, and leaning into each other.
As a Paris film photographer, I'm looking for the in-between moments more than the arranged ones. Friends mid-laugh, a hand on a shoulder, Liza and Ben catching each other's eye across the room, glasses getting clinked. I don't ask for a group lineup unless the couple wants one, because the good frames come from observing the guests, rather than overt posing.
It also helps that the day before the reception was already unhurried. Because we had spent the morning at home, the afternoon in Le Marais, and a stop for fries, Liza and Ben arrived at Rojo relaxed. A Paris wedding photographed this way, where the couple gets to actually spend time enjoying themselves and together, tends to look like one connected day instead of a series of scheduled scenes.
If you're planning a Paris wedding and the reception is going to be somewhere small, dark, and fun, film and flash are made for it.
Why film works for a wedding with a vintage, candid look
The vintage wedding look is built into Paris film photography. Film has grain, color, and contrast that come from the stock and the lab, not from a preset applied afterward. If you love the way your parents' wedding photos look, or a roll of snapshots from the 90s, that's film. Digital files can be edited to imitate it, but it's still an imitation. You can usually see the difference across a whole gallery.
White clothes and skin tones. Ben wore ivory, and Liza wore ivory silk. Digital sensors clip bright highlights hard, so whites can go flat. Film handles bright areas gradually, so a white jacket in direct sun still has detail, and skin stays warm next to it.
Fewer frames, more attention. A roll of 35mm holds 36 frames, and medium format holds fewer. I can't fire off bursts and sort it out later, so I wait for the moment. I'm also not checking the back of the camera, which makes couples relax. When I press the shutter, I mean it.
Flash looks different on film, it's intentionally a bit brighter, with the vintage overexposed look. Direct flash on film wedding photography gives that slightly raw party-photo look, with deep color and the edges of the frame falling into darkness.
Film wedding photography also doesn't date itself. Digital editing styles change every couple of years: bright and airy, then moody, then something else. Film grain and color look the way they did thirty years ago, so your pictures sit comfortably next to old family photos. The negatives are also a physical original, and they last for decades when stored properly.
If you'd like to learn more about film photography as a medium, or see other examples, you can read more about my film photography work here.
Digital photography
Film photography
Why film photography suits a Paris wedding
Paris already looks like it was made for film. Cream limestone, grey zinc roofs, green street signs, cast-iron balconies, red velvet and brass in the cafés. Film wedding photography renders those colors with warmth.
Mixed light is also part of Paris and its history. Civil ceremony rooms and old buildings combine stained glass, tungsten lamps, and the occasional green fluorescent tube. Film tends to give that mix character, where digital files often need heavy correction to look natural.
Many Paris civil weddings and elopements are small, which suits the approach of film photography, measured, intentional, and slightly imperfect.
Planning a Paris wedding on film?
I'm an editorial Paris film photographer based in the city, and I often work with couples traveling from the US and around the world for civil ceremonies, elopements, and weddings. If you want your day photographed on film, I'd love to hear about it.
If you'd like to see another Paris civil wedding, you can see Samia and Lucas' Paris civil wedding at the Mairie du 15e arrondisement.
