PM: How long have you been in France and what brought you here?

KP: I moved to France in June of 2001. We had an opportunity to be relocated (all expenses paid) from San Francisco with my husbands company, and since it was something that we had talked about doing anyway (my husband is French), we took them up on their offer.

PM: What keeps you here?

KP: Even though I’m an expat, my husband and our children were born here. And while the children have dual nationality- France is the only home that they know. So that plays a big part in keeping me here. Another thing is my business. I own a wedding and event planning agency that specializes in events for English-speaking people who want to celebrate in Paris, so I kind of need to be where the action is!

PM: What’s different for you here, versus where you’re originally from?

KP: Paris is chic and lively- I love the fast pace and energy of Paris. But, I’m originally from Chicago, which has its own style and robustness, but is also very “down home” Middle of America, which I like. Parisians even dress up to look dressed down, and in the industry that I’m in, I find that it’s necessary to do the same, which gets pretty tiring sometimes. But it goes beyond clothing, really.. . There’s a real laid-back attitude in the mid-west that just doesn’t exist here and that has taken some getting used to.

PM: What do you not like about living here, if anything?

KP: There’s a famous French complaint that Americans “smile too much”, but I personally take that as a compliment. Exchanging a smile with someone that you pass on the street or on the metro doesn’t cost a thing and makes two people feel good. I think that even if I lived here for the next 50 years I still would never get used to it OR give into the “Parisian scowl”.

PM: What are your favourite haunts?

KP: Between running my own business, taking care of our children and spending time with my husband- I have to choose my guilty pleasures wisely. For a quick pick me up, I’ll go for hot chocolate and macarons at Ladurée or window shop at the Passages Jouffroy or Verdeau. When its sunny, I love wandering around the Marais or Ile de la Cite. For inspiration and ideas I like the 18th- I like looking at fabrics and baubles at Marché St Pierre, or hunting for “diamonds in the rough” at Tati or Sympa.

PM: What do you miss most from your own country?

KP: My friends and family. Even though it’s a lot easier than it was even just five years ago (with Facebook and Twitter and Skype), with the time difference, there’s always a bit of a disconnect between us, which is so frustrating. I also REALLY miss going out for breakfast. Sure I like pain au chocolate and a crème just as much as the next girl, but NOTHING beats a Golden Nugget “Four Deuces” and a bottomless cup of coffee!

PM: If you didn’t live here, where would you live?

KP: Either in Chicago or San Francisco. I think San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I lived there for a few years before moving to France, and I never realized how much I could miss the ocean. But I would also want to live in Chicago to be near my family and friends.

PM: And if you left France, what would you miss the most?

KP: I think I would miss the almost limitless access to art, history and culture- especially for my children. It’s everywhere and so much of it is free. I love that my son (who is eight) knows the history of the obelisk at Place de la Concorde, or when my daughter recognizes a painting in a book as one that we saw at the Musee d’Orsay. I think that their lives have been so culturally enriched from having been raised here.

PM: Tell us about Parisian Events.

KP: Parisian Events is a full-service wedding and event design and coordination agency. We cater to English-speakers who either live in Paris, or who come to Paris specifically to celebrate their special occasion. When my husband and I decided to get married 10 years ago, we were living in San Francisco. I thought it would be fun and romantic to plan a destination wedding in France. Back then, there weren’t really any wedding planners in France, and so I ran into a lot of confusion, mis-communication and just general chaos as I tried to organize my overseas wedding. At the time, I was planning social and non-profit events in San Francisco, and I thought then that if I ever moved to Paris, I would start a business for other American “Brides In Need” like myself. It was something that I had always kept in mind, so after we moved here and the children were a little bit bigger, I did some research and felt that the need was still there, so I started parisian events five years ago.

PM: What are your clients like--where are they from?

KP: I’ve had Anglophone clients from all over the world- US, UK, South Africa, Bulgaria, Spain, Canada, Ireland- you name it! The majority of my Destination Wedding clients are from the US and UK., though. I also work a lot with Franco-American couples who live in Paris. Typically, it's the bride who is American and needs help bringing her own voice to her French wedding, especially with her soon-to-be in-laws and family. Having once been an American Bride, I have certain “insider knowledge” as to her specific needs and expectations. Beyond language differences, there are also cultural aspects that many French planners aren’t equipped to deal with and we are. Its comforting for brides to know that you’re “speaking their language” on all levels, not just verbally.

PM: What do they expect from a "French wedding?"

KP: I learned early on that many of my clients don’t want a “French wedding”, per se- they want THEIR wedding (be they American, Irish, Canadian, or whatever) IN Paris. Nowadays, there are quite a few agencies who cater to Destination Weddings in Paris, but I think one thing that sets my agency apart is that we don’t crank out “Paris Wedding Packages”. I work really hard with my clients to determine what the image of their Parisian wedding is- what attracted them to Paris, what personal or cultural elements from their lives do they want to bring to their event, and which traditional Parisian or French elements do they want to incorporate into their day. Then we design the day around their vision, which makes the event that much more personal and unique. Everyone’s image of Paris is so different, and while one experience may work for one client, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for another. And when it comes to something as important as a wedding- you want to make sure that the experience works for everybody!

PM: Complete these two sentences: Paris is…

KP:...what you make of it. Good or bad, it's not changing, so you need to learn to adapt if necessary in order to get the best out of it. If you can do that, then Paris is magical.

PM: French people are...

KP:…Complicated!

For wedding planning or other events feel free to contact Kim at Parisian Events.

Follow her terrific blog Parisian Party for lots of interesting Paris news. It's one of our favorites!

Priscilla Lalisse-Jespersen moved to Paris from New York City in 1999. In addition to being the Editor and Founder of Prissy Mag, she is the author of the novel STOCKALE. For her complete bio, please click here.

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