Taylre Duarte, sales lead at Google, and Gregory Hayes, CEO of Branch Office Furniture, met on spring break in Punta Cana during their final year of university in Canada— “a story we love and hate to tell at the same time,” Taylre says. “In the midst of watered down punch cocktails on the beach, we instantly took a liking to each other and hung out all week,” she continues.
Once back home, he asked if he could visit the following weekend, which happened to be her birthday. “I was so nervous that I made my two best friends come on our first date with us,” she says. Post graduation and before she took a big backpacking trip around Asia, he convinced her to make their relationship official, and eight years later, he proposed in their apartment in the West Village.
Since traveling together throughout the years deepened their love, it felt natural to host a destination wedding in one of their favorite countries—France. More specifically, they chose Château de Robernier in Provence—close to where she studied abroad—and had 115 guests fly in for three days of “sunshine, good food, and lots of rose!” The couple brought in Lexy Marie to plan their destination wedding weekend, and Cecile, the venue’s owner, was also a massive help.
One thing that wasn’t overwhelming was finding Taylre’s wedding dress. Her friend sent her a photo of it, and it just so happened that the Alexandra Grecco was having a sample sale that weekend. She booked an appointment, tried it on, and bought the gown two days later. On the day-of, she completed the look with earrings her late father had gifted her mother. And for the entire weekend, one of Taylre’s best friends, Joseph Maine, was on hand to style her hair.
When it came time for the ceremony, the bride walked down the aisle with her mother to “Kusanagi” by Odesza. The couple had put in a lot of time carefully curating the ceremony songs. Then Taylre met Greg and her father’s brother, who was the officiant, under the floral arch. After exchanging heartfelt vows they’d written themselves, the couple snuck off for a few photos, while everyone headed to the outdoor reception.
Two of the newlyweds’ best friends emcee’d the entire evening, interjecting with jokes and games throughout the night. Between courses, a live band traveled from table to table and had people up out of their seats.
Taylre and Greg had their first dance to “Sea of Love” by Cat Powell. “We honestly had both been dreading the first dance (didn’t want all that undivided attention, was worried about being cheesy), but during that song’s three minutes, I felt as though the entire world had disappeared around us, and I could hear nothing but the music,” she says.
Before dancing was in full swing, jeroboams of rosé and espresso martinis were served to everyone, so they could toast with the couple. And then the party carried on on the front lawn until the sun rose.