If you’ve ever connected with a city, it becomes more than just a destination or a place you play tourist.  A place most likely becomes “yours” over time, with many experiences, lots of memories, and some kind of life change.  I know that last part sounds a little drastic, but when significant things in your life happen, it marks you!

Since I’ve been visiting Paris for the last two decades (holy mercy, that’s a long time), a LOT has changed.  And Paris looks a lot different through the eyes of a married wedding photographer who has two baby girls than it did through the eyes of a young high school girl.  Not to mention all the stages of life in between!

So if you’ve wondered why I love Paris so much, it’s because in a way I’ve grown up there even though I’ve never actually lived there.  Not only that, but my photography has grown up there too!  I love looking back to see how my work has changed since I first went with my little 35mm point and shoot in high school to the professional DSLR I use now.

It’s taken me 5 months to finish editing our Paris photos from our trip last November.  And I feel like I’ll be using these photos for all kind of things in the years to come.  So enjoy seeing some of my favorite places in my favorite city :-)

Paris architecture always gets me.  It’s so old and still so beautiful!

We landed in Paris on All Saints Day (November 1) and they were having mass all day and evening at Notre Dame.  We didn’t stay for an entire service, but it was still amazing to witness pieces of it.

My favorite thing we’ve done these last two trips to Paris is to rent an apartment instead of staying in a hotel.  No, there isn’t anyone to make our bed each morning, but it gives us a chance to pretend like we’re locals!  Plus, again, the architecture!

It was such a tiny little studio that the loft “bedroom” actually had half a glass floor to not make the entire space feel so small.  Those stairs next to the kitchen went up to the bedroom and the black square you see through the floor under the bed was the tiny little bathroom.  But again, it was perfect for what we needed and it felt much more like home than a hotel would have.

I have this thing for carousels in Paris.  As in, I can’t get enough of them!

Oh the color!

Ever since I was little, I’ve heard about older Parisian gentlemen playing boule in the sand.  So running into these men and chatting with them for a minute (because that’s all the French I had!), they said it was ok if I took some photos of them.  It was just a few minutes, but this was one of the highlights of our trip for me! :-)

We didn’t get to go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe on our honeymoon so we tried again and y’all…
the sunset this time around was WELL worth the 5 year wait!

It was just so pretty!!

The city becomes more magical as the sun sets and the lights illuminate the city.

I’d taken a photo just like this back in college and wanted another one this time around…
but I never thought I’d get an empty stairwell!

My favorite bridge in the entire city is Pont Alexandre III.  I’m just in awe of the elegance that has lasted since 1900!

But that morning light though…!

We actually went to the bridge at this time of morning to see what the light might be like for our sunrise session the next day.
And I fell even more in love!

This was a random house boat on the Seine, but I just loved it.

As I mentioned in THIS POST, our friend Joel met us in Paris… so he’s in several photos.  And he’s the reason Ben and I have any photos together at all!

It took us several tries to get this, but all 3 of us finally nailed it :-)

That night, we went on a dinner cruise for our 5th anniversary and Joel joined us :-)  He was one of Ben’s best men in the wedding and we loved sharing that first day with him AND the fifth anniversary of that day with him!

Again, because of Joel, we have a non-cheese photo of us at dinner together!

Our last day in Paris began with a sunrise session that you can see HERE.  The light that morning was GORGEOUS!

I know I already shared photos of the bridge, but this was a different day so it’s completely different, right?? :-)

We finished the session in Montmartre and then wandered from there.  It’s my favorite area of Paris to get lost in.

But first, some more photos :-)

I played the violin until I was in college and am so in love with this portrait…
I wish I’d gotten his information so I could send this to him.

On our honeymoon, we went to this fallafel place and definitely wanted to go back!
We waited in line for 40 minutes, but it was worth it.

Plus… that light!!

The last thing we did was something I’d never done before.  We wandered around Île Saint-Louis.  I’d read it was picturesque and I wanted a new place to explore… and it did not disappoint!

Plus, I’d never seen this view of Notre Dame before.

And succulents!!!

This was just before we left for the airport at a crazy early hour.  But I wanted a photo of us in our apartment and this was our last chance.  A lot has happened and changed in the last five years, but I wouldn’t trade any of it for anything.  And I especially wouldn’t have wanted to experience it with anyone else.

You can see our other Paris posts HERE.