Le Style is a gorgeous digital magazine out of Melbourne, Australia that showcases French style and news from around the world. Launched earlier this year, each quarterly issue features stunning photos and insightful content on French lifestyle, culture, travel and fashion trends. The latest issue is also an interactive version- smartphone and tablet friendly, accompanied by instant click-on videos and useful links.
I spoke with Sha Anderson, Director and Editor-in-Chief of Le Style Digital Magazine, about planning weddings in Paris, as well as my thoughts on what it is exactly that seems to attract brides from around the globe to the French wedding style. Here’s an excerpt:
sha anderson, le style: Our readers love French style and many would love to have a French-inspired wedding. What do you think makes French weddings so special?
kim petyt, parisian events: I think the thing that sets French weddings apart is their inherently refined elegance. I’m American, and we Americans tend to like our weddings BIG: tall centerpieces strung with Swarovsky crystals, layered table linens, gobos splashing our monogram around the room, etc. etc. Elegant, yes- but BIG. French weddings are a lot more subtle, with the emphasis more on the guests around the table, rather than the drama on the table. Keep in mind that a French wedding dinner can last upwards of 5 hours long. So rather than draw the attention away from the guests with an over-the-top, elaborate table center, a French bride will typically choose centerpieces that can be talked over, made of tasteful, carefully selected floral compositions in a classic vase, for example. As expected, more importance will be put on the meal itself – with attention to paring not just the wines, but also the cheese and even the bread with the meal.
In France, personalization isn’t just about custom name-tags on water bottles, it’s about choosing a venue that has a history with the couple or their families. Many wedding vendors in France are also often chosen this way. For years, a family will have used the same stationer for all of their formal stationery needs- from birth announcements to calling cards. So when it’s time for her wedding, a bride will turn to a stationer that knows her family on a personal level, and maybe even choose an invitation design that was used for her parents or grandparents wedding. I think this attention to the finer details is what makes French weddings so special. Fortunately, it’s something that can be brought to French-inspired celebrations anywhere, and for any budget.
For the rest of our interview, be sure to check out the current issue of Le Style Digital Magazine, released earlier this week and available for viewing at lestyle.org. And a big “MERCI” to Sha and the Le Style team for letting me share my love of Paris weddings with their readers.
Blair, a consummate (and crafty!) francophile, added special touches to further personalize their day. She always loved the Romani idea of sewing special things into a wedding dress for good luck– initials, special dates, spices to ward off evil spirits, etc. So she chose to sew a cicada into her hemline in honor of Judson ( his band is called Tettix (ancient Greek for cicada.) It was also her “something borrowed”, as a close friend who couldn’t make it to the wedding lent it to her). Next to it, she sewed in a medallion she used to wear around her neck of Saint Geneviève– the Patron Saint of Paris. She told me, “France has always been a special place to me, ever since I was a child, and eventually I lived in Paris for a year in college. Afterward, I always wore my Ste. Genevieve necklace as a reminder of where I wanted to someday return to– so sewing it into my hemline was a special tribute to the city that keeps summoning me back.” 
