A ROMANTIC PROPOSAL at Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
Alisha & Shehzer
A pink palace on its own peninsula
You see the villa before you see the gardens. Pale pink, sitting up on the highest point of the peninsula, with the sea on both sides. From certain corners of the garden you can look one way toward Nice and the other toward Monaco, and the whole coastline just opens up in front of you.
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild sits on a narrow strip of land between Nice and Monaco, right on the water. Baroness BĂ©atrice de Rothschild built it in the early 1900s and had her architect shape the gardens so that, seen from the loggia, they’d look like the deck of an ocean liner. She loved to sail, and she wanted that feeling even when she was standing still.
Nine gardens surround the villa: French, Spanish, Florentine, Japanese, a stone garden, an exotic one, a rose garden, a Provençal garden. Pink was her favorite color, so the rose garden got a whole section of its own. Walk for ten minutes and the light changes, the plants change, even the air feels different.
Why Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild works so well for a proposal
That variety is exactly what makes this place so good for photos. Roses and soft pink in one corner. Cypress trees and pale stone in another. A long reflecting pool with the Mediterranean sitting right behind it. Whatever mood you’re picturing for your proposal or your session, there’s already a spot here that looks like it.
The gardens welcome visitors most of the year, and photo sessions can be booked in advance through the venue. Sitting right between Nice and Monaco, it’s an easy stop if you’re already staying on the coast, and it works just as well as a half day trip from further along the Riviera.
The proposal
Alisha had no idea what was coming. We spent the first part of the session just walking through the gardens like any other couple shoot, no rush, nothing to give it away. Shehzer had planned it all with me beforehand: the spot, right at the top of the gardens in front of the villa, one of the most iconic views on the whole property.
When we got there, he got down on one knee and gave a speech that caught me off guard too, in the best way. I don’t photograph many proposals. This one is hard to top.
What struck me most, once it was done, was how little they performed for the camera. They just kept looking at each other and laughing, completely wrapped up in it. For the rest of the afternoon my job was mostly to follow them from garden to garden and let the place do the work, because every few steps the light and the backdrop changed completely. Roses first, then the stone garden, then a quieter corner with the sea right behind them.
Planning
Your proposal at Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
A few questions people ask
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READY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN ?
ThESE MEMORIES ARE FOREVER.
If you’re planning a trip to the French Riviera and thinking about a proposal, or you’d just like real photos of the two of you in one of the most beautiful gardens on the coast, I’d love to be part of it.
Tiphaine Barth is a fine art and editorial photographer based in Toulon, France. She photographs couples, weddings and families across the French Riviera, Provence and Europe.
