Paris Wedding Salon Season is quickly approaching, so I wanted to give you a little heads up and low-down as to what you can expect from the more popular shows:
October 10, 11, 12 Salon du Mariage et du Pacs - Espace Champerret
This is the first salon of the season, and will give you a nice broad overview of what is available to you if you’re in the early stages of planning your wedding in Paris. With over 140 exhibitors, and 3 runway shows a day, I think this Salon is great for couples who are newly engaged and don’t really know where to begin. It’s typically very crowded, so you won’t necessarily have a lot of face time with vendors, but you’ll leave with tons of handouts and ideas of how to get started.
October 17, 18, 19 Salon du Mariage au Carrousel du Louvre 
This Salon takes it up a notch. In addition to fabulous runway shows and a wide-range of exhibitors in different price points, this year the Salon du Mariage au Carrousel du Louvre will also offer several ateliers for visitors to participate in, including an Atelier de la Mode to help you find the best style and silhouette for your wedding dress, an Atelier des Fleurs in order to explore classic and creative bouquets, centerpieces and decorations for your ceremony and reception, and a sort of “Weddings For Dummies” class for the boys, which will focus on choosing wine, champagne, car rentals and… the wedding band (the music, not the jewelry).
October 25 and 26th, Le Grand Salon du Mariage de Paris, Parc Floral de Paris
Presented by Mariée magazine, like the Salon at Espace Champerret, this salon offers an overview for those who are just beginning the planning process. They will have 150 exhibitors, including a very extensive wedding photographers exhibit, and offer a few ateliers as well.
November 21 and 22 Les Coulisses du Mariage, Four Seasons Hotel George V 
In my opinion, this is the big girls’ show. La crème de la crème, if you will. Presented by the Four Seasons and 1001Listes, Les Coulisses du Mariage is a small, intimate Salon that highlights some of the finer wedding vendors in Paris. I often steer my clients to this particular salon because I feel like it’s for the couple that knows what they want- they’ve done their homework and are comfortable with how they want their day to play out. Les Coulisses du Mariage helps them to interpret their vision, and puts them directly in touch with the vendors that can help them realize it. Plus, I don’t have to tell you how sumptuous the venue is- but I will anyway: The Four Seasons is paradise! If you’re planning on getting married in Paris, and are able to do just one planning visit, try to work it around Les Coulisses du Mariage- you won’t regret it!
After a few nights out on the town in Paris, you’ll soon start to realize that nothing really seems to get a pawty stawted like a yummy Ti’ Punch. Ti Punch (which is short for “petite punch” and is pronounced “Tee Pownsh”) is a delicious rum-based cocktail which comes from the French Caribbean, but is served in homes, bars and terraces all over France. Everyone seems to love Ti Punch, and the fact that it’s so simple to make puts it right at the top of my French Party Cocktail Menu: 
