Claude-Alica Guerin-Roy & Peter Reid

Claude-Alicia Guerin-Roy was only sixteen when she fell for the “19-year-old football stud” Peter Reid. Although Peter definitely noticed her that night: “she immediately caught my eye being the most beautiful blonde in the group,” it took another two years before they began dating. But when they did, things progressed quickly, with the couple moving in together. “She became not only my love but my best friend,” says Peter. 

Having asked her parents for her hand in marriage and selected a ring, Peter created a scrapbook—“Our Adventure Book”—replicating the prop from Claude-Alicia’s favorite Disney film, Up, and presented it to her as a Christmas gift. Peter had filled the book with their special moments, leaving three dots on the last page. “I looked over and there he was on one knee,” she says. “This night is as close to perfect as I think I’ve ever experienced.”

The couple turned to their friends and wedding planners, Kristen Daniel and Taylor Waxman from Mindy Weiss Party Consultants, to help plan the nuptials. Wanting to wed on a beach, Claude-Alicia and Peter chose Donna Karan’s estate in Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos as their wedding destination. 

Although living in Montréal, the couple—she a fashion blogger and he a mechanical engineering student—eventually plans to move to the West Coast or Hawaii. The setting “felt like a great homage to our future,” says Claude-Alicia.

Forty guests gathered Friday night for a rehearsal dinner complete with family style Italian favorites of the soon-to-be bride and groom and all listened to top 40 tracks interpreted as 1920s tunes. Family and friends surprised them with speeches and a video showing the duo growing up and coming together as a couple.

The following day, the ceremony took place on the beach—“bare feet in the sand” as the newlyweds wanted—with a color palette of blush, beige and gold. The bride and party wearing flower crowns added to the bohemian and ethereal feel.Claude-Alicia, escorted by her parents, walked down the aisle in an ivory Monique Lhuillier Rapture strapless dress to a live rendition of Jimmy Eat World’s “Hear You Me.”

 Peter’s mother read the E.E. Cummings poem, “[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]” and the couple exchanged their self-written vows. “Finally declared husband and wife, I kissed him with all of my might,” says Claude-Alicia. “It was so nice to finally have him in my arms after a whole day apart.”

The newlyweds, surrounded by their loved ones, danced until they watched the sunrise. “Our wedding was never just a celebration,” adds Claude-Alicia, “it was the acknowledgement that life had blessed us with one another, and this being incredibly rare, it should be underlined. I just love the man so much.”

“I knew for a long time that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Claude,” adds Peter, “there just isn’t anyone else in the world I could picture growing old with.”