A Breathtaking Affair at the Stunning Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

Melissa Hammam
May 14, 2024
Categories: Real Weddings, Romantic, Seasonal Wedding Trend, Summer, The Blog

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The wedding colors were pastel pinks with accents of blue and purple.

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The pastel pink facade of the Villa itself and the gardens surrounding it created such a beautiful, fairy tale setting, and the view from the Florentine Gardens of the bay of Villefranche created an incredibly romantic backdrop for the ceremony. Yishu had visited the location 5 years prior and fallen in love with the venue (before she and Taylor ever met!). We also wanted to get married in a place with predictably warm (but not hot) weather with beautiful natural surroundings and a view of the water. The Villa Ephrussi was perfect because it is situated in the south of France with very little rain and perfect weather in September. We pictured a romantic outdoor setting at sunset with ample florals and foliage, and a dinner softly lit by an abundance of candles. We wanted an intimate and elegant wedding where we would have a chance of spending time with each of our guests. With almost all of our guests traveling from the United States, we wanted to make sure that it was a memorable experience for them as well as us. The Villa Ephrussi De Rothschild was the perfect setting for us that offered both elegance and also an intimate setting in the gardens.

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[field title=”Proposal Story”]We met in mid-2020 through a mutual friend who Taylor knew from work and Yishu knew from high school. This friend (Rebecca) was determined to find Taylor a wife and thought Yishu was just the right match for him. Since it was the middle of COVID, we had several weeks of text walls, video chats, and virtual movie dates before we finally met in person fully masked up and socially distanced at a pier on Long Island. Even though we could only see half of each other’s faces and couldn’t eat or drink together, 5 hours somehow passed before either of us realized it. After several more weeks of shuttling between Long Island and Manhattan, we decided to make it official. And the rest, as they say, is history.

We were on vacation in Crete in the fall of 2022 and the last stop on the trip was a gorgeous beach called Balos Beach. As a photography enthusiast, Taylor had brought his camera and tripod and convinced Yishu to take a walk with him on the beach under the guise of finding a secluded place to take a nice photo. Yishu thought it was funny that Taylor had brought a tripod to the beach, but didn’t think much of it since Taylor has always been very into photography. After getting Yishu in position and setting up the photo, Taylor got down on one knee and proposed (much to Yishu’s complete surprise!).

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[section title=”The Fashion”]

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Yishu tried on at least 50 dresses before she found “the one”. All the dresses were beautiful, as wedding dresses are, but none gave her that spark, until she found her dress – the Utopia by Galia Lahav. She never thought she would want a ball gown but this one was elegant and dramatic with a beautiful train, yet whimsical, with sheer fabric and appliqués that gave the dress an ethereal quality that fit perfectly with the magic of the Villa Ephrussi De Rothschild gardens. She fell in love instantly when she put it on, and she knew it was the dress. Taylor had his tuxedo made by a tailor in NYC called Bindle and Keep. He thought he was going to get a more traditional tuxedo, but after Yishu showed the tailor her dress, the tailor convinced Taylor that a velvet tuxedo would be more appropriate for the occasion so that Yishu’s dress wouldn’t “drown him out.”

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[section title=”The Details”]

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The wedding events started with a welcome dinner of hors-d’oeuvres style bites and cocktails at Le Plongeoir, a restaurant situated right on the water where guests were able to walk around and mingle and watch the sunset over the Mediterranean. The following day was the wedding catered by Potel et Chabot where lobster in a mango passion fruit dressing was served for the starter. The choice of entrées were duck with honey lemon glaze and foie gras crisp or a sole spiral with wasabi potato purée, kefir shea butter, and trout and herring roe. On the third day, guests were invited to Baia Bella, a beach restaurant, to enjoy a farewell brunch and some time at the beach.

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[field title=”Florals & Decor”]The ceremony took place in the Florentine Garden of the Villa – an intimate setting nestled in a magical part of the garden that overlooks the Mediterranean. The ceremony took place during golden hour, right before sunset, and we said our vows as the sky turned into soft pinks and oranges that reflected in the water below. The florals featured an abundant display of roses, hydrangeas, and clematis in soft pinks, cream, blues, and purples, which beautifully complemented the lush greenery of the garden for the ceremony and cocktails as well as the soft pink facade of the Villa for the dinner.

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[field title=”Wedding Cake”]Neither of us was that enthralled with wedding cakes, so we opted for what we thought was a more “France appropriate” dessert, the croquembouche. We were a little sad when one of the caterers we spoke to said that “for some reason, all American couples want a croquembouche,” because we felt that we had fallen into a tourist trap, but we went ahead with it anyway and loved it!

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[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]Our wedding was officiated by a close friend (Rohan) who poetically captured the essence of our relationship so beautifully. He delivered a wonderful speech about how we are two very different people who have taken steps for and towards each other to become stronger and better together.

We both did some competitive ballroom dance while in college, so when we were thinking about what we wanted to do for our first dance, we thought it would be a nice treat for our guests to be able to put on a performance. We worked with a dance instructor at a local studio in NYC who choreographed the dance for us, and 20-or-so lessons later, we had our dance, which was a mix of Rumba, Waltz, and Tango dances, complete with lifts and dips for some extra pizazz. [/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #1″]Yishu: There were so many memorable moments. Perhaps the most memorable were during the ceremony – from the moment the string trio began playing “A Thousand Years” and I started walking down the aisle to meet Taylor at the end…to the moment we walked triumphantly back down the aisle together, as husband and wife. When I was reciting my vows and got to the part about just how lucky I felt to have found so many wonderful things in one partner, I broke down because it really hit me how lucky I truly was and how happy I would be to have Taylor by my side for the rest of my life. And when I made my promises to Taylor, I could see him visibly tear up and get emotional about the life we would build together. We laughed and cried throughout the ceremony and it was all so beautifully raw and real.[/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #2″]Taylor: One of the memorable moments of the day was our first look, when I saw Yishu for the first time. I had been warned that the dress was dramatic, but still nothing prepared me for the reality. I turned from side to side taking it all in – the sheer magnitude of the dress, but also the reality of my beautiful bride standing in front of me, ready to take this leap into our future together. And when she began to walk down the aisle, I took a deep breath as it hit me that this was all becoming reality, in front of our closest friends and family. It was surreal in the strangest, most wonderful way.[/field]

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