“OUI, je le veux” is French for “Yes I do”.
And it was through these few words that Richard Hayes, born and raised in Euroa, married Clémence Carayol, a French woman whom he met overseas and brought back in his suitcase a few years back.
The wedding took place on September 16 at Mrs Carayol-Hayes’ family property in Mougnac, just an hour from Bordeaux, where the Carayol have been making wine and cognac since the 1960s.
The newlyweds exchanged rings and vows among the vines in front of the Carayol’s chapel, built in the 12th century.
“It was so great to celebrate our love with our friends and family in such a meaningful place,” Mr Hayes said.
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It also held special meaning for the bride.
“Richard and I lived in Mougnac after moving from Paris and before moving to Euroa, that’s when Richard got super close to my family and especially my grandmother Jeannine, who sadly passed away since,” Mrs Carayol-Hayes said.
“I know she was looking down on us that day and it meant the world to us.”
The wedding was also meaningful because both families hadn’t met beforehand.
“When your family is so far away, it is not geographically the easiest for them to meet your partner’s family,” said Mrs Carayol-Hayes.
“It was so great to see them meet and bond over our union, and to see my adoptive country mix up with my home country.
“It helped me a bit to overcome the homesickness I sometimes feel because of the love my family immediately felt for Richard’s family, how my dad Henri and mum Elisabeth embraced my parents-in-law and vice-versa.”
More than that, Mr Hayes’ family took an active part in preparing the wedding and making it everything the couple had been dreaming of.
“I am very grateful for my mum Jill and my sister Annabelle who I cooked with for the wedding,” said Mr Hayes.
“And for my dad Bernard and my brothers-in-law Hugh and Simon who worked their magic in the garden.”
Mrs Carayol-Hayes said she was impressed by her new family’s prowess.
“When it comes to food and weddings, the Hayes are like Houdini: one minute nothing is ready, and the next you’ve got the most beautiful summer banquet in front of your eyes,” she said.
For the bride, this wedding felt like “the French edition of a Euroa Butter Factory nuptial ceremony”.
“My favourite thing was Jill’s idea of literally making our wedding cake into a cheesecake, which was actually a pile of French cheese wheels.
“It was the most French wedding cake you’ll ever see, and it went so well with the wine made by my family.”
Mr Hayes’ sister Sally, along with Mrs Carayol-Hayes’ godmother Chrystelle for the French part, married the couple on that summer day.
Annabelle and Matteo, Mrs Carayol-Hayes’ baby brother, stole the show as they were the emcees of the day.
“I wasn’t a little girl who used to dream of my wedding day, but if I had, this wedding would have been the one I dreamed of,” Mrs Carayol-Hayes said.
This wedding was a bi-lingual celebration of the couple’s love. Mrs Carayol-Hayes’ beautiful bridesmaids, Delphine, Rhiannon, Marie, Aude and Pauline, all did moving speeches in both languages.
Mr Hayes’ groomsmen Charlie and Alex were both from Downunder, while the bridesmaids were a combination of French and Aussie DNA.
“It was mesmerising to see our two worlds and cultures mixing together,” Mrs Carayol-Hayes said.
For her, the wedding looked exactly like the pair: “a bit crazy, perfectly imperfect, and mostly loud and colourful”.
“I think the takeaway from the day is how impressed the French were about how much Aussies can drink, and how impressed the Aussies were about how much the French can eat,” Mr Hayes said.
“The Aussies taught the French how to throw a party and introduced them to the power of stubby-holders, which is a life-changing invention.”
The day was a learning curve for everyone, and it continued throughout the night, its pinnacle being when Mr Hayes taught all the French guests the Nutbush dance.
“And this memory will live in my head rent-free for a long time,” Mrs Carayol-Hayes said.
