Planning a wedding in Paris France is full of obstacles. How MANY times have I heard the phrase, “oh we just don’t do that here”.  This is from the mentality here that one that offers a product or service for what most “normal” people do or get for their wedding. There seems to be a sort of cultural agreement that everybody has the same things at their weddings, with perhaps a variation on the quality of the things depending on the couple’s budget. Well the budget quality here is often deplorable for my taste, and I don’t want to have what everybody else has, so I rely in DIY! Besides, I am a creative person and would quite frankly rather create things myself, than go buy them (when possible within the limits of my creative talents).

So this penchant for DIY has led me to seek out some VERY useful addresses in this city, where….let me tell you….nothing is cheap ESPECIALLY for wedding planning! As soon as you say the word “mariage“, people blink their eyes and then you see €uro signs where their pupils once were. Le sigh…

So since I learned how to share in kindergarten, I am blogging about these wonderful places for you!

Comptoir de l’emballage is a great life saver. You can buy in bulk all sorts of things that most shops would use for packaging, gift wrap etc…and these things work GREAT for weddings! Gift bags of all types and sizes, you can even have them with your “logo” on them (names and wedding date),  ribbons, tissue paper, wrapping paper, gift boxes, fabric sachets for guest favors, etc… with a span of choice of color, texture, design that is hard to find in businesses that “specialize” in weddings here. I got a ream of tissue paper here to use for making decorative puffs…I will hopefully blog about that in the near future. PLEASE NOTE : there is no store front for this commerce. You must go to their website. They ship. If you live in or near Paris and don’t want to pay shipping (I was a little against the 17€ to ship me the tissue paper from one side of Paris to the other, so I went to their offices), you can call them in advance to ask if they have the item you are looking for in stock, and if you can pick it up at their offices/warehouse, 21, rue de Châtillon 75014 Paris. Make an appointment. They are very nice, as long as you call ahead! Tel : 01 56 53 81 98 – Fax : 01 56 53 81 99

Pappopaulin, this is the DIY Alibaba cavern! I stumbled upon it one day while wandering the 2nd where the wholesale garment district is, looking for a place to find ribbon in bulk. And boy did I fond it! They have ribbons of every color, quality and width, in addition to the thousands of other items they carry. I go here to get satin ribbons in bulk and I leave with a dozen other little things! You can buy in bulk or in detail. For bulk you need to order it ahead of time. Give them a week or so. They have beads, sequins, ribbons of EVERY kind, do-dads, trinkets, patches, clips, tingamabobs, thingamjigs, pearls, feathers, false flowers etc… for the DIYer. Then they also have another side to the store which is really for weddings where you can buy in bulk or detail, everything from place settings and dinner ware, to hats, gloves etc… Now not all of that is top quality and I suspect a lot of it to be made in some far off land, but there are things that you can find for table center pieces or random last minute items that were forgotten and are out-of-budget. They also have shoe clips for those of you who want to make your own clip on bows for your shoes! 47 rue du Caire, 75002 Paris. Tél : 01 40 26 80 20

Magic Fournitures Mercerie, also stumbled upon while searching for ribbons in the 2nd, this store that sells end-of-the line mercer items for bridal couture. Rows and rows of lace ribbons, or lace tulle or lace lace lace lace….! DIY brides GO HERE. Bring a swatch of your dress if possible so you can compare it to the whites of the products offered here, because no two white is the same!

MCM Emballages, I found this site while browsing online for a spouted container for lemonade. You can find glassware here. RECYCLED glassware. So not only are you clever bride, you are and eco-responsible bride too!  Need a giant jar with a spout for your home made punch? Looking for bottles to fill and stick on your own wedding label, with or without caps? Need some glass pots or vases for your centerpieces? Need jars for homemade edible guest favors? They even have glass plates and drinking or cocktail glasses. They ship within EUROPE!

So Paris brides…I hope you find your “bonheur” at these places to help you personalize and embellish your most magical day, and don’t listen when people tell you “oh that’s not how we do that here” !!!