My fiance and I, both American citizens, want to get married in Paris. Any ideas how we can do this? Also, we would like to have the ceremony under the Eiffel Tower...any suggestions how to do this???

Thanks.

My husband and I dreamed of doing same. Believe me, it is not feasible. There's a long residency requirement and an insurmountable mountain of paperwork involved for non-citizens. Better to have a civil ceremony stateside and head for Paris to honeymoon. (Even John Travolta opted for this.) You may be able to find an "official" to perform a ceremony under the Tour Eiffel, but not a legal marriage. Incidentally, we ended up spending our honeymoon on Nantucket and our first anniversary in Paris.

It's true about the mountain of paperwork and the residency requirement for France is lengthy. However, I believe it is only two weeks in Italy. My husband and I researched this quite thoroughly a few years back. There's still a lot of red tape, but if a European marriage is important to you, go for it. On the other hand, if a Paris honeymoon is enough for you, I have a suggestion.

A short while ago, when desperate for a luxury hotel during Parisı fashion week, I discovered one of the cityıs best kept secrets. La Vie en Rose is an experience Iıll never forget, not just because it was so wonderful and boy was it, but because of all the goodies I got to bring back with me!

A romantic location -- behind Notre Dame, on the Seine, overlooking the Ile. St. Louis -- that canıt be beat is coupled with lovely 1930s and modern design decor. The owners have thought out every hedonistic details from the wealth of soaps and bath products in the mirrored and marble bathroom to the lovely robes that you take home with you for free! I had never stayed on a boat before, but the experience was terrific -- so private. Only one couple at a time visits, and is lavished with free champagne, gourmet breakfasts, fresh flowers plus all the conveniences you would expect from a five star hotel -- phone, fax, VCR with a library of films, stereo with a library of CDs.

I was worried that it would be hard to get to, but the boat is so well located, just below the Restaurant Tour DıArgent that that is all I had to tell my taxi drivers. I discovered La Vie en Rose on the web at www.la-vie-en-rose.com completely by accident, following a link from another site. I emailed the owners and asked millions of questions. They were patient and timely with their answers, so I decided to give it a try. Boy, am I glad the George V was full! Now I would never stay anywhere else. And I'm sorry I didn't discover it soon enough for my honeymoon, but you can be sure I'll go back for many anniversaries.