Elegant Black-and-White Paris Elopement {with a Stunning Black Wedding Dress!} by Juliane Berry

Let's start Valentine's week off right, shall we? I think Jaimee + Tyson's black-and-white Paris elopement will do just the trick. I love that Jaimee decided to follow her heart and wear a black Donna Karan stunner in lieu of a traditional white or ivory dress - it's so bold, daring, refreshing ... and Parisian! A few other things I'm loving about this wedding: Jaimee's gorgeous black-and-white striped umbrella and the fact they hired an accordionist to play at their wedding half an hour before! / Photos by Juliane Berry.

Jaimee says, "We wanted a romantic, intimate wedding - just the two of us. Paris has always held an intangible romance for me - which is a delicate way of saying that I'm France-obsessed. Tyson liked the idea, and liked that our wedding day would be a fun adventure. He also likes to make me happy. And so on our rainy, gray-lit Parisian wedding day, we felt like we were floating around the city.

Tyson desperately wanted an accordionist to play at our ceremony - an idea that I loved. But he had the worst time finding one. We even hit up the accordionists we saw on the street. Finally, on the morning of our wedding, Tyson decided to ask the hotel concierge - just in case. The concierge was a newlywed himself, and performed a miracle. The accordionist was booked 30 minutes before the ceremony, and met us at the Tuilieries in his suit. We danced to the accordionist while we waited for the officiant to arrive.

Jaimee couldn't find the perfect earrings so she had a pair made from three pairs of vintage earrings {including a pair that belonged to her grandmother}. A jeweler soldered them together for her. Isn't that a great idea for your 'something old'?

During our vows, the world stopped for a moment, and everything fell away except for him. And all day long, he kept telling me this: 'This is so fun. I am so happy.' What's better than that?

When I was shopping for white wedding dresses, I kept showing my friends a photo of a black Donna Karan runway dress that I just adored. Finally, one friend told me to just quit mooning and buy it already. I wear black almost every day, so this way, I'd feel like myself. And I could wear my wedding gown again. The dress reminded me of a photo of Audrey Hepburn in Paris in the 1950s - just timeless, simple elegance.

The black and white striped cake is something I've had tucked into a folder forever. I sent a photo to the bakery in Paris and they made it come true. I have a serious black and white fetish - my entire wardrobe and house are decorated in black and white. And so the black and white umbrella, while perfect for the wedding, is actually the umbrella I own and use all the time.

Tyson, my husband, was very into choosing and renting the vintage car - which was hugely fun. The car turned heads all over town as we were chauffeured around Paris. Tyson used Google Translate to write our chauffeur letters in French, which I found so sweet and charming.

The day before the wedding, Tyson and I traipsed all over Paris looking for flowers for my bouquet and his lapel. I wanted white garden roses, and I wanted to tie the bouquet myself. I loved the experience of choosing the flowers together, and watching him sweetly carry this enormous bundle home. That night, we tied the bouquet together. In the morning, it looked a little tired, and my hands were shaking too much to tie the bow correctly, but in the end, I didn't care.

ps. Jaimee's beyond gorge coat is Vintage Christian Dior. She says, "I found it in a consignment shop a week or two before the wedding. If I told you what I paid, you'd cry. I felt like it was waiting for me. The collar and the trim are fur." 

I knew it would be fun and romantic, and it was -- but it surprised me in that it brought us so close to each other. The experience of being alone in a foreign country, going everywhere together, planning everything together, and having only each other brought so much depth to our experience. I felt like I had the greatest partner and friend."
Thank you so much to Jaimee + Tyson for sharing their lovely day and to Juliane for sharing her always gorgeous photos with us. 

ps. You can see more of this Parisian wedding on Jaimee's super classic blog - I'm a little addicted myself! This tooth fairy door DIY is too cute for words and who knew spray painting books could look so chic?

Credits: Bride's Dress: Donna Karan, Bergdorf Goodman, New York City / Bride's Coat: Vintage Christian Dior / Bride's Shoes: Manolo Blahnik / Bride's Earrings: I couldn't find what I wanted, so these were made from three pairs of vintage earrings soldered together by a jeweler (including a pair that belonged to my grandmother!). /Groom's Suit: Gucci /Groom's Shoes: Magnanni, Nordstrom / Groom's Tie: Ralph Lauren / Bride's Hair: Sylvain at Le S Coiffure à Paris, 34 Rue de Bassano, Paris / Bride's Makeup: I did it myself. / Flowers: Bride's DIY from Paris flower market / Umbrella: Available here / Photographer: Juliane Berry / Cake: Sugarplum Cake Shop, Paris

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