Civil Wedding in Versailles | Paris Wedding Photographer
Cassandra & Samuel | Versailles | Juin 2026
A civil wedding at Versailles Town Hall, followed by an intimate celebration with close family and friends. For this couple, this first part of their wedding was an opportunity to take their time, enjoy being together and celebrate with the people closest to them.
A Civil Wedding at Versailles Town Hall
The Versailles Town Hall is a beautiful setting for a civil ceremony. The architecture, gilded details and soft natural light inside the building created a particularly elegant atmosphere for the occasion.
After the ceremony, we took some time for photographs inside the town hall and around the surrounding streets of Versailles. It gave us the opportunity to create a variety of images, from more intimate photographs inside the building to quieter moments together in the streets.
The celebration then continued in a Portuguese restaurant close to the town hall, surrounded by their closest family and friends.
Why Have Your Civil Ceremony Separately From Your Wedding Day?
Choosing to have your civil ceremony on a separate day can be a really lovely way to experience this part of your wedding without feeling rushed.
On the main wedding day, there can be a lot of travelling between locations, especially when the ceremony, reception and dinner take place in different places. Having the civil ceremony beforehand means you can keep that day much simpler and take the time to enjoy it properly.
It also means that your wedding day can remain entirely dedicated to the celebration you have imagined. Whether you have chosen a château, a private estate or a countryside venue, you can arrive at your wedding location without having to fit a civil ceremony into an already busy schedule.
For your family and guests, it can also make things easier. Instead of spending part of the wedding day travelling between different locations, everyone can simply enjoy the celebration together.
From a Civil Ceremony in Paris or Versailles to a Wedding Anywhere in the World
For some couples, the civil ceremony is only the beginning of the celebrations.
This was the case for Cassandra and Samuel. They chose to have their civil wedding in Versailles, surrounded by their closest family and friends, before celebrating their wedding later in the year in Portugal, where they could be reunited with more of their family.
The Portuguese restaurant they chose for their celebration after the ceremony was therefore a natural continuation of their story. It was a simple way to bring together the people who were there that day, while also creating a connection with the destination of their main wedding celebration.
Having the civil ceremony separately from the main wedding day can be a lovely way to take your time and enjoy each part of the celebration. It also gives couples more freedom when choosing where to hold their wedding.
You can get married at your local town hall in Paris, Versailles or elsewhere, then celebrate your wedding in another part of France or abroad. Provence, the Loire Valley, Normandy, Italy, Portugal or any destination that feels meaningful to you can become the setting for the main celebration.
This approach can also make the wedding day itself much more relaxed. With no need to travel between the town hall and the reception venue, you can spend more time with your guests and make the most of the place you have chosen.
As a destination wedding photographer, I accompany my couples wherever their celebrations take them, from an intimate civil ceremony in Paris or Versailles to a wedding weekend in France or abroad.
