I was so honored when asked to participate in the 2017 Paris edition of the Inner Circle Experience, not only to connect and collaborate with old and new friends in the industry, but I was also hungry for some inspiration. We are lucky enough to travel all over doing weddings for clients who are from all over, but nothing compares to stepping outside of that and seeing new things to inspire you in a new host of ways…
We stayed at the Plaza de Athenee which was beyond luxurious… I think staying in hotels is one of the things that provides me with the most inspiration and have always dreamed of designing a hotel one day… I try on my visits to our NYC office to try new places, but I tend to fall in love with a place and stay there for a while before switching it up…
Walking around and exploring doors is one of my most favorite things to do… Last year after exploring doors in Italy, I came home and painting my front door a color that I couldn’t get out of my head. And, we have done a lovely wedding where the bride loved a particular door knocker and we incorporated it throughout the design.
My friend and fellow event professional, Ceci Johnson of Ceci New York, and I wandering the streets together…
I was thrilled that the Dior exhibit at the Musee des Art Decoratifs was happening while I was there… I was in awe, it was breathtaking… So many dresses I would give anything to have in my collection, and so many I could see as fabulous wedding dresses!
Of course, just absorbing all of the surroundings could take up your entire trip. I’m more of a culture buff than architecture, but I couldn’t help being overwhelmed by all there was to see.
The ceiling here of the Palais Garnier is spectacular, just the detail and time it must have taken to go into it… And, you can rent this space for events, I can just see designing a wedding here- add to goal list!
Sometimes you just have to do the one obvious tourist thing, for me going to the top of the Eifel Tower was incredible…
The view from the top was spectacular.. We had lunch at the Jules Verne restaurant, and I even got to witness the cutest couple sitting next to me get engaged! Could not have been more perfect.
There were incredible experiences lined up for us… Some of my favorites were perusing the Picasso Museum, the cooking class at Alain Ducasse’s Le’Ecole de Cuisine , and going to the original Hermes store. It’s always been a dream of mine to live in Paris for the summer to go the Le Cordon Bleu, so a glimpse of this at the Alain Ducasse school reignited that even more. 
This is why Paris is called the City of Lights!
