Doesn’t Christmas in Paris just sound amazing? I certainly think so. And when we were working on my book- I knew that I wanted to include a little bit of French inspiration in French Country Cottage Christmas. While we thought about countryside houses and decking the halls of a beautiful chateau- (maybe next book?) Paris and the Eiffel Tower backdrop was a most perfect and magical fit.
Christmas In Paris
It started with our 2 day stop in the Cotswolds- you might remember we were winging it and deciding where we wanted to stay each day. And we did fine until the last day we were there and we couldn’t find a hotel and our taxi driver was laughing that we decided to wing it on a bank holiday weekend. He was so great to help us find something- thankfully- but thus the European comedy of errors began.
Christmas in Paris
Between leftover travel restrictions, overbooked everything and stock supply issues- making a Christmas shoot happen in Paris during the summer of 2022 had more than a few hiccups. It was a team effort making this shoot happen for sure! Thank goodness for Balsam Hill and Balsam Hill France and all of their help. They jumped in to make a twinkling tree in Paris in August happen -they had a full size tree, small tree and foliage in stock we could use and they were amazing and sent them to the Paris apartment for the shoot. The apartment was with Paris Perfect- a beautiful backdrop for us to work in with the most perfect views. Beyond thankful for both of these partners and their help making this happen.
While in the apartment -I was planning on shooting for the Christmas book, another print project, working on social media videos and photos (which need to be different from book work) and also trying to squeeze in a bit of vacation- all over just about 3 days. And it was HOT in Paris at that time so I am certain that neighbors thought we were a tad nuts shooting Christmas trees in shorts in 90 degree weather haha.
The apt had guests in it until the day we arrived and so, we were unable to have anything shipped directly there but there was a market a block from the apartment that accepted packages which was perfect. Nothing was due to arrive the first day we were in the apartment- so we were settling in and wandered over to pick up supplies for the shoot and I worked on another photo styling that evening.
When we got a notification the boxes were here – we went to the market to grab them and that was when the hiccups started. After a lot of back and forth and searching, they discovered due to some kind of a restriction – they had been delivered to a pick up ‘mailbox’ type place a few miles away and they were unable to deliver. So I punched in the address to map us and we walked to the pick up location. When we got there, I had just 3% battery on my phone. We waited in line to get the boxes – and right when we just got up to the service desk, my phone died. I explained the packages, my name etc. but the man explained unless I had the bar code from the email (which was on my dead phone) I could not pick up the packages. No exceptions. My husband was about ready to take me out at that point since we had a short time before the mailbox store closed, no phone, no barcode & no way to pick up packages.
We walked outside and started looking around the street and it was almost like a beaming light shining across the street and 1 block down. There was a cell phone repair shop- thank goodness! We were able to get a fast charger, go back to the mailbox shop and plug in and charge for a few minutes- enough to get the barcode and get our packages before they closed the doors. We had a good laugh with the mailbox guy after all that haha.
Then it was on to find a taxi that was large enough to find big boxes in it in a city where small taxi’s are king. We called Paris Perfect and they recommend a larger taxi service they use and the taxi came about an hour later and shuffled us and our boxes back to the apartment. We got right to work decorating to try to be able to photograph the tree during evening light.
After we set up in the living room -my camera would not turn on even though I had charged the battery all night. Both the batteries I brought would not charge on the new international charger I brought with me. So I used my iPhone in Raw to photograph the living tree and then several more trips walking to stores and helpful folks later- they figured out the issue, we bought another new charger and then I moved the tree to the dining room. I filled the tree with the fresh flowers we had used for other photoshoots. It was an unplanned shoot and I absolutely loved how it turned out. We then moved the large tree up to the patio that afternoon to try to capture the Eiffel Tower with the tree at night.
Pure Magic!
As you can see, Murphys Law was in full force that trip it seems haha! And did I mention that about a week before we left for Europe I had pulled my calf muscle and was able to barely walk a short time & only in heels by the time we got on the plane? I wore heeled boots the whole time we were there just to even be able to walk. A trip filled with a few glitches- but it was honestly so amazing and so many memories were made. I loved every crazy minute!
And you know, I am an emotional kind of girl and I will admit- I was a bit teary that trip. All the crazy aside- it truly was a pinch me moment when I stopped for a second and just soaked it up -it was BEYOND. In my wildest dreams I don’t know that I ever imagined I would be traveling to Paris to style and shoot photos for a book that I was writing. There are several big dreams come true all in that moment!
Living Room Tree
Decorated with the ribbons, ornaments and citrus slices and candles we brought.
The Secrets Here? We bought brown paper and wrapped various small things we found around the apartment to be gifts. Books, dishes, tissue paper boxes, etc. We then placed them on the toile bedspread from one of the guest beds that was used as the tree skirt.
Dining Room Tree
We moved the tree to the dining room for a photo by the window with the buildings in the background.
The Secrets: We had to wait for the right sunlight to get this photo- the light in Paris is incredible and it bounced off the buildings in this room which made it feel like sunshine filled light all day long. The tree skirt is a lovely throw from the sofa. The flowers are all fresh from the flower markets there and were used for another photoshoot. This tree was a last minute addition to our shoot schedule- originally not planned but I was inspired and decided to start decorating it while my husband was off on an errand. As you can see, the same ornaments and ribbons- but with the flowers, the tree looks a little different.
Eiffel Tower Tree
A tree on the patio with the Eiffel Tower and Paris architecture as the backdrop- perfection.
The Secrets: It was pretty windy the day we had this tree set up. I scrambled to get the tree moved through the small doors to the patio and then get some simple decor on it quickly. I left it with just a few baubles and ribbons and candlesticks and a faux fur throw underneath and started shooting just before the sunset was glowing. I had about 10 minutes to capture all the photos and videos I wanted before the purple pink glow disappeared. These photos were actually taken with my iPhone rather than my DSLR. My iPhone shooting photos in Raw was king on this trip for the photos!
Beyond amazing – this was a big magic filled moment for sure.
So there you have a bit behind this Christmas photoshoot in Paris. I hope you have enjoyed hearing a little bit about what goes on behind the scenes. You can see more of this shoot in my Christmas Book HERE.
See more of the Cotswolds HERE
And our stay in this beautiful Paris Apartment HERE
I am slowing a bit the next few days to simmer and soak up all the Christmas magic of the season. I will pop on and share a bit more before taking a break and then will see you after Christmas for NYE inspiration and a look back at the year that was along with dreams for 2024.
Happy Friday All.
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franki Parde says
It’s how we rock ‘n roll…crazee is right…my hubs & I always say, “It’s been an AdventuRaaaa…franki
marlyn Stallings says
Courtney, Your attention to Details is Amazing. Also Your Pictures with the Phone are Lovely …absolutely Perfect. Thank You Sharing Your Adventure MJ