How We Built a Dreamy Parisian City for a Wedding Welcome Party

For this outdoor welcome party, the wedding planner and bride-to-be wanted the ultimate Parisian welcome fête with a fully customized French cityscape. So we built one!

This one-of-a-kind celebration at Ojai Valley Inn featured a blooming Parisian city storefronts spanning 152 feet—that’s half the length of a football field!

Our team designed and built this city from scratch totaling nine custom storefronts, immersive décor, and two full-service bars under lavender pergolas, transporting guests straight to the streets of Paris.

Want to know how we did it? Keep reading to find out.

Design

The goal was to create an authentic, immersive French city, blending classic bistro architecture with rich vintage details that would make each storefront feel like a real Parisian café.

To do this, we decided each storefront needed its own unique facade and look. This was achieved using paint, intricate moldings, charming awnings, and carefully curated details that reflected the charm of French storefronts.

We pulled inspiration from:
🏛 Classic Parisian architecture with clean lines, soft curves, and decorative moldings
🎨 A refined color palette of vintage pinks, lavenders, and soft blues with ivory and gold detailing
☕ French bistro aesthetics with striped and scalloped awnings, wrought-iron sconces, and elegant shopfronts
💡 Warm, inviting lighting and draped windows to make each store feel intimate and real

Fabrication

Once we designed what the storefronts and bars would look like, it was time to figure out how to build them! So our carpentry, painting, fabric, sewing, and soft goods departments in the Revelry warehouse got to work! All nine were hand-painted and adorned with awnings, moldings, doors, doorknobs, and signage.

Design Specifications:

📏 Total Length: 152 feet
🏛 Nine Custom Storefronts
🎨 Custom Paint Finishes: Vintage Tea Rose, Lavender Sachet, Dolphin Blue, Delicate Blush, Honest White, Ivory Lace
🛠 Architectural Details: Moldings, Columns, Railings, Rosettes, Windows, Doors, Awnings, Draping, Sconces

Bars

The best things about our inventory of bars? Their endless versatility. All blank canvases waiting to be decked out.

So we decided to build two super bars by combining several bars and adding custom fronts, sides, tops, and paint.

This Parisian dream bar came to life with our New York Collection Folding Bars, elevated using high-gloss bar tops, sleek frames, white trellis fronts, 12-foot pergolas, and matching fitted corners—all created by our carpentry department to achieve a fully immersive wraparound bar experience.

After a stunning lavender paint job, it was packed up in pieces and reassembled on-site.

Carts

With the bars covered, we needed more flat spaces to display florals, gift bags, and snacks. While still keeping with the Parisian theme.

We custom-painted five of our favorite carts: a Display Bike Cart with Drawing, a Metal Flower Display Cart, a Display Cart with an Umbrella, and two of our very Parisian Prop Display Carts with unique awnings.

Storefronts

🛍️ Store #1: The Perfume Shop – “Fleur de Blum”

Nothing says Paris like a luxury perfume boutique!

To create this elegant storefront, we started with our storefront panel, extended it to 20 feet wide, and added tall, decorative columns to give it a grand presence. Our paint team then brought it to life in a soft vintage pink and lavender palette with ivory detailing.

💜 Custom lavender & ivory striped awnings gave it that Parisian touch.
🪟 Draped windows and doors with off-white gauze added depth.
🖌️ A hand-painted store sign completed the look.

🧀 Store #2: The Cheese Shop – “La Fromagerie”

A French city isn’t complete without a fromagerie!

To bring this charming cheese shop to life, we used front facades and oval window panels to create large display windows.

🟣 Painted in a striking shade of purple, with blush and ivory accents.
🚪 Custom molding created a vintage-style door, complete with a golden doorknob.
🌿 Two blush awnings and iron-armed bistro sconces added warmth and ambiance.
🎨 A hand-painted cheese shop sign and logo gave it the final touch!

🥩 Store #3: The Steak & Fries Shop

For this classic French bistro, we started with four Tiffany Wood Niche Panels and removed the shelves to create open plexi windows.

🔹 Dolphin blue paint gave it a bold, Parisian flair.
🍽 A custom off-white linen awning added sophistication.
🌟 Hand-painted details on plexi windows made it feel straight out of France!

🍰 Store #4: Croquembouche Patisserie

A French bakery was a must for this city!

We extended the height of this storefront to 14’6” to create a grand presence and added:

🍮 Three large windows with ivory lace railings for an elegant Parisian touch.
🎨 Hand-painted signage for a vintage bakery look.
💜 Lavender Sachet paint with ivory lace detailing created a soft, romantic feel.

🎻 Store #5: Band Stage – “Salon de Steinbaum”

The heart and center of the city was this live music stage, designed to blend seamlessly with the city.

🎭 Custom off-white linen awning with decorative piping to frame the stage.
🎨 Blush pink and blue accents to match the city’s aesthetic.
🖌 Hand-painted awning sign instead of a traditional storefront sign.

🫕 Store #6: Fondue Shop

This charming fondue shop stood out with its gilded lion doorknob—a detail we absolutely loved!

💜 Painted in soft lavender with blush moldings.
🎭 Round pink awning over the door.
🚪 Custom door and real doorknob for an authentic touch.

🥞 Store #7: The Crêpe Station – “Crème de la Crêpe”

Because who doesn’t love fresh crêpes?

🔹 Delicate blush & dolphin blue color palette.
🌿 A 10’ wide awning in blue with an ivory scallop valance.
✨ Hand-painted signage & ornate moldings.

🥗 Store #8: The Salad Station

This bright and fresh storefront was designed to bring a light, airy feel to the city.

💖 Painted in Honest White with ivory lace details.
🌷 A large pink traditional awning.
🌟 Iron-armed bistro sconce for a warm, inviting glow.

🖌️ Store #9: The Sketch Artist – “La Mode Parisienne”

Guests could have live sketches done at this chic artist’s studio.

🎨 Dolphin blue with ivory lace trim.
🖼 Two large oval windows framed with plexi for an open-air feel.
🖌 Hand-painted signage and vintage awnings.

Installation

Since the storefronts and bars were too large to transport fully assembled, our team unloaded the panels and framework and began assembling everything on-site. We also brought out 16 gorgeous garden umbrellas, 8 White Fringe Umbrellas and 8 10′ Square Umbrellas. They definitely added to the glamour!

The Orchard Lawn at Ojai Valley Inn was the perfect empty canvas for the event. The install took three days of hard work by an incredible team of vendors. Guests of the Ojai Valley Inn and the event were completely blown away by the transformation! Check out our Instagram reel to see us install the event!

And keep scrolling to see the full welcome party and all the fun details that made this event special.