17 November

Our Parisian Home

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I’m so excited to share the second half of our Paris proposal story today (you can find part one here), as well as a look into our home for the nine days we were in Paris! After our whirlwind of a morning, I was ready to head back home, call our families, and cozy up on the couch with Ryan. It had been such a perfect day so far, but after all of the excitement, nothing was more appealing than having a little bit of downtime. We headed back to our HomeAway located the Le Marais to find yet another surprise. We entered into our incredibly chic fifth-floor apartment to find a bottle of Veuve Cliquot and a framed photo of Ryan and I awaiting us (thank you so much for coordinating this with Ryan, Tycen and Carsten at Paris-sharing). There was a card congratulating us from our host and the HomeAway team – it was the sweetest surprise! Having our own balcony to sit out on while we popped some bubbly and celebrated our engagement was so romantic and memorable. 

Our whole experience and stay with HomeAway was amazing right from the beginning. Ryan arranged the whole stay for us – I didn’t even see where we were staying until we walked through the door! Needless to say, I was absolutely blown away. From the black and white tile floor in the hallway to the fresh flowers, customized playlist, and macarons from Pierre Herme that awaited us, I was in love at first sight. My favorite part of the entire place? The breathtaking view of Saint Paul Cathedral from our balcony! The first thing I did once we got settled in was open up all of the windows and spend time out on our wrap around balcony. I think we sat out on it more than we actually spent time inside!

As one of the leading online vacation rental marketplaces with more than 1.2 million listings worldwide, I’ve realized after this trip that staying in a HomeAway is the only way to vacation. Other than the stunning decor of the apartment, it made us feel so much more at home to be in a house rather than a hotel. Ryan and I embrace the feeling of acting like a local when we visit new cities and having a HomeAway property helped us feel even more like a true Parisian. For such an intimate getaway like getting engaged, I can’t tell you enough how romantic and lovely it was to have our own private space to celebrate. 

We were within walking distance to everything we needed at our property. It was located right across from the best neighborhood restaurants – two of our favorites were La Favorite (no pun intended), and Le Petit Fer à Coeval (The Little Horseshoe). Both were recommendations from our host who was so incredibly helpful in getting us aquatinted to our new neighborhood! One night we didn’t feel like eating out, so we walked to our local market and picked up the makings for a cheese plate and spaghetti to cook in our fully stocked kitchen. We turned on some French tunes (of course) and spent a relaxing evening in. I felt like we were in our second home! 

If you have an upcoming trip to Paris in the works, you can view our property listing here, as well as all of the other listings for Paris here. If you aren’t planning to head to Paris anytime soon, be sure to check out their other gorgeous locations here. Who knows, you may see a HomeAway that you’re so in love with it sparks an idea for your next destination!

A special thanks to HomeAway for playing such a magical role in making our trip even more memorable. 

 Photos by Ryan Sides

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I love this beautiful love story of both of you. It was a nice surprise that he arranged this marvelous place.

So happy for you!! When Ryan asked about getting some of the photos printed I hoped he was working on a proposal!! So awesome! He did an amazing job!

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