Ever since we've traveled to Etretat cliffs the first time we've been dreaming of photographing an elopement here and we've totally manifested this perfect day! Etretat is located in Normandy and is less than 3 hours away from Paris by car. We would highly recommend using a car if you plan on exploring this part of France as other ways of transport won't be as flexible and it would take you way longer to get there.
Normandy is notorious for bad or let's say moody weather, so only consider coming here between April and October. This elopement happened in the first week of August and we've had high humidity with clouds, light rain followed by showers and finished the day with a perfect clear sky and sun. All that in the course of 4-5 hours is totally normal here!
You've picked your dates and now your next step is booking your accommodation - Etretat is tiny, there are less than 2 thousand people living here, so the places for you to stay at will be limited and first come first served. Finding an Airbnb would be best as you could cook your own food while here. The restaurants on the coast are rather repetitive and expensive, so pick a hotel if you are only staying a couple of nights and don't mind always eating out. The best hotel is hands down Dormy House. We've stayed here with 2 kids and it was super comfortable, great views, close to the beach and they have a nice restaurant (not very family friendly at the restaurant, but the food is very good). The hotel from this shoot does not allow to photograph there for free anymore, so we wouldn't recommend it unless you've got a budget to pay extra 500+euro for the permission to shoot there. If you are interested in this one, please, reach out and we'll pass on their contact. If you are traveling by car then you could also stay anywhere along the coast and our second suggestion would be to stay in Fecamp - it's a larger town with more hotel and restaurant options and a completely different beach view worth visiting. For more tips you can check out the blog post Fede wrote awhile ago about traveling to Etretat with kids.
The reason why we commend to stay overnight in Normandy is because the best light for the photoshoot happens around sunrise and sunset, so to enjoy yourself more it's easier to spend the night, get up and do a sunrise shoot or ceremony or, like we did here, do an afternoon shoot going into sunset for the beautiful soft light. This is not to say that you can't drive up here in the morning, shoot during the day and be back in Paris by the evening, and chances are it will be cloudy and the photos would look amazing anyway. But in the off chance it's very sunny or it's raining too much, this way you are giving yourself a second or third day here as an option.
Don't forget the small details like some champagne or the local traditional cider to celebrate. We've opted for cider here and brought the coupes and picnic blanket with us from Paris for our couple to enjoy. Hair and make up for the bride was done by Catherine Rostova that traveled from Paris for the shoot and stayed with us for a few hours adjusting the hair between the sets. The bouquet of the bride flowers was prepared by La Florangerie florist close to our home and we brought them on the morning of the shoot with us. We love the deep green color of the suit of the groom by Lancerto! And our bride looked stunning in the Rara Avis Group gown.
We started with getting ready and some indoor portraits and afterwards walked over to Jardins d'Étretat - an award winning neo-futuristic garden that overlooks the beach and the cliffs. This place is a MUST visit! Personal photos, meaning if you take them yourselves, are for free, but if you'd like to come here with a photographer then 120€ is applied for a permission to shoot here. Totally worth it though ;)
After the gardens we've walked over to the church and the cliffs literally across the road from the gardens entrance. That's when the weather got extra moody on us, so we've battled the winds and got a bit rained on by the end of this set. From that location there is a path with a staircase that leads right down to the beach and it's rather easy to walk (although comfortable walking shoes for a bride is also a must here and it's not just about comfort but safety). After a quick touch up of hair and make up at the beach (where it's much less windy) we've done the next set directly on the pebble beach. Fun fact, the pebbled of Etretat are protected by law and you can face a hefty fine for taking home with you even just one stone!
After this part we've taken a small break to warm up, dry up (reminding you, that's in August! but it's Normandy) and have some late lunch. We were waiting for the final set of the day - the elopement ceremony on the other side of the beach cliffs which look rather different and have nice spots to set up an intimate moment for the two to exchange their vows. The sunset time in August was at 9:30pm, but already at 7:30pm the light turned into a magical soft glow creating some of our favorite images to date.
Shot and edited by Ana, but it wouldn't have been possible without the assist by Fede - he drove us there, took care of all the gear swaps to allow us to work fast and efficient in bad weather, carried snacks, drinks and props. Having a photographer assistant on a shoot like this makes a huge difference to how relaxed and enjoyable your experience is going to be.
Ready to start planning your unique elopement in France?
