Paris Wedding Venues (Part 1) - Traditional French Style Venues

Bonjour! Hello hello from Paris! I’m having such an amazing time here not just planning for destination weddings, but soaking up all the loveliness that is Paris. This is a designers dream and I am in heaven. Part of the fun is venue scouting and to help you plan your destination wedding in Paris (or just give you some fun inspiration for a French style wedding), I’m going to be sharing some wonderful Paris wedding venues with you. These posts will be coming in themed parts in order to make it easier to soak up. So, today I’m taking you on a tour of two Paris wedding venues that have a more traditional French look to them. These are great for the couple who likes the more ornate, detailed look with some grand touches. And you must love gold (you’ll see why in a moment).

Before we jump into photos, I want to mention that while these two Paris wedding venues are different, they do have a few things in common. They both are venues that were converted from a mansion into spaces meant to be rented for events. What this means is that they are no stranger to events and have figured out how events work best in their spaces, which makes planning easier. Since they were mansions, the event space has multiple rooms. This can be nice to split up the cocktails from the dinner from the dancing and the ability to use other rooms for things like dessert. However, this can be a negative if you like the idea of one large room or if you have a large group and don’t want to have to split people up. There are some other similarities as well with these two Paris wedding venues, but let’s dive in as I’m sure you’re itching to see some photos and learn more about each.

The first venue is Salons France Ameriques. This venue is located on a lovely street in the 8th arrondissement near the Grand Palais. It was build in 1863 and has two different levels that are linked by a grand staircase. The entrance leads you to the lobby and terrace. The black and white decor here is a nice starter and a great place for cocktails. Ceremonies can be held outside on the terrace or on the grand staircase. On this level is also a small library which can be used as the bride’s room.

Next we head up the grand staircase, which deserves some photos all to itself. This is a lovely place for a ceremony (if it’s cold or you prefer something indoors). Just imagine candles lining the steps (although they would have to be battery operated ones) as you say your vows.

On the first floor (the French call our second floor the first floor), there are 4 rooms each with their own fireplace and which all connect and can serve for your dinner, dancing, cake/desserts and bar areas. The first is the Bolivar room which can seat a max of 60 for dinner. Generally, this room coupled with the next room are used for dinner. This room has a large chandelier, painted ceiling, gold detailing and cream walls.

The Bolivar room leads to the main room, the Washington room which is the largest and the most ornate. The Washington room can hold up to 80 for dinner. You’ll notice there is much more gold in this room.

The Washington room connects to the Lafayette room which is typically used for dancing. This is where the DJ or band would setup. This room has a red patterned wall and similar gold detailing as in the Bolivar room.

The last room is the Montcalm room which is great for a bar, buffet or desserts. Since this connects to the Lafayette room, it’s a perfect space for a lounge as well.

Before we move on to the next wedding venue, I want to give you just a few more bits of info on this venue. When you rent out the venue for your wedding you do get the whole mansion and all of it’s spaces, so you don’t have to worry about any other events happening. The ideal guest size count is about 100-150. More than that and it can be crampy, less and it might feel too large. They do provide the food and alcohol onsite along with the tables, chairs, linen and tableware. They only do weddings on Fridays and Saturdays with a start time of 6pm and an end time of 4am!!! Yes, you heard right, 4am, so you can party all night long.

Next up, our second Paris wedding venue is called La Maison de Polytechniciens. It’s located in the 7th arrondissement very close to the Musee d’Orsay. It was build in 18th century and has three different levels that are available for your use. In contrast to the first venue, this one can hold up to 250 people as the rooms are larger and there are much more of them. As guests enter, they are usually lead upstairs for cocktails in the 4 connecting rooms and terrace. You can have your ceremony on the terrace on the first floor (second floor for us Yanks), in the garden on the main floor or in the front courtyard area (the building is away from the street, so it would still be private). I unfortunately couldn’t get any photos of the garden or main dining room as there was an event in progress when I was visiting, but I’ve supplemented my photos with some of theirs. Below you’ll see the front door and building facade, then the entrance and stairs followed by the upstairs terrace and main level garden.

(Photo credit: La Maison des Polytechniciens)

Connected to the upstairs terrace are 4 rooms all which connect to each other and are available for cocktails and mingling. You can use one for a station display or music or other items like a guest book, seating/escort cards and the like. There is also a top floor which has 3 small rooms for the bride or groom or wedding party to use to store items or change. Since there were so many rooms, I’m only showing a few photos. Take note that these rooms upstairs are more neutral and subdued in color. While still having the French detailing, they aren’t super ornate.

After cocktails, you’d then head back downstairs to the main floor for dinner. There are 4 rooms downstairs which are all connected. The first is the blue room which many times gets used for a first dance or other display items like the cake. The 3 other rooms include the main room which connects to the garden and outdoor tented area, and 2 other rooms all of which can be used for dinner. People mostly use the 2 larger rooms for dinner and reserve the smaller one as a kid’s room. You’ll notice that these rooms are much more ornate and detailed than the upstair’s rooms. This gives the wedding a nice change of pace going from more casual cocktails to a more formal dinner.

(Photo credit: La Maison des Polytechniciens)

Last, but not least this venue also has a bonus area downstairs which is used for dancing until the wee hours of the morning. The cave once used during prohibition can be used until “whenever”. Literally, that is what I was told! So, you can literally party until the sun comes up. This downstairs cave has a bar area and is perfect for a DJ, dancing and lounging.

A few more bits of info before I leave you to fantasize about your wedding at one of these traditional style French venues. Like the first venue, when you rent out this venue for your wedding you do get the whole mansion and all of it’s spaces, so you don’t have to worry about any other events happening. As I mentioned before, this venue can hold up to 250 people and I actually think it’s better for a larger wedding so can utilize the spaces in the best way possible. They do provide the food and alcohol onsite along with the tables, chairs, linen and tableware. And one of the biggest draws is that you can start at 6pm and go until “whenever”.

Is one of these venues right for your Paris destination wedding? If you’re looking for a private traditional French setting and you love yourself some gold, both of these mansions turned event spaces are great for that. They have wonderful detailing, French ornate styling and many rooms to play with. They come with lots of items included and you and your guests will have the place all to yourselves and can party all night long.

Ready for my personal opinion on the two? I think they are both lovely Paris wedding venues and I like the multi-room concept because it gives you a chance to really play with what you can do in each room. I will say that I like the flow of the France Ameriques venue better because it makes more sense and that staircase is great. However, I do like the fact that the Maison des Polytechniciens venue has a dancing cave and lets you party until whenever is a big draw. Plus their outdoor spaces are pretty awesome. They are both good options, it just depends on your guest count size and what you want to do for your wedding. You really can’t go wrong, though!

What do you think of these Paris wedding venues? Let us know in a comment below. And if you need help planning your destination wedding in Paris (or elsewhere), we’d be happy to help you find the right venue. Contact us today.