When the wedding planning platform Zola reached out to Taylor Marie Hayes last September about participating in its “Wedding of the Year” campaign, she didn’t think her relationship with Travis Brady Wickboldt stood out.
But it was their names — Taylor and Travis — that put the Wisconsin couple in the spotlight.
The two had been set up in February 2023 by close mutual friends, Meghan and Trey Waite, who knew Hayes and Wickboldt were both seeking their forever partners.
Hayes, who was in remission from breast cancer for nearly a year, had been single for six years. “I was self-conscious about my appearance after chemo because I still had short hair,” she said. “Still, I really wanted to find my soul mate.”
Wickboldt had been single for two years following a long-term relationship and a string of dates that had gone nowhere. “I knew the right person was out there for me,” he said. “I just had to find her.”
After getting to know each other over text for a few days, Wickboldt asked Hayes to dinner at the now-closed Northwoods Brewpub, a popular eatery at the Cumberland Golf Club in Cumberland, Wis. At the time, he lived in Cumberland, and she was living in an apartment in Rice Lake, about 15 miles away.
When they met a week later, Wickboldt immediately noticed “how pretty she was,” adding that “she came off as kind and confident.”
Hayes was equally enamored. “My first impression of Trav was how handsome and sweet he looked,” she said. “I had a new body and hair because of chemotherapy, and he made it very easy for me to feel at ease.”
Over burgers, fries and bourbon, they chatted about their backgrounds and interests. He liked fishing and being outdoors, and she enjoyed crafting, reading and cooking.
After dinner, they headed to Nezzy’s Sports Bar & Grill in Cumberland. As their conversation easily flowed, they discovered a shared love of bourbon, live music and the card game cribbage.
When the bar closed, it was clear “sparks were flying,” both said, and Wickboldt invited Hayes to his house to play cribbage and try his favorite bourbon, Yellowstone. They also shared their first kiss.
The pair considered themselves a couple from then on. They texted each evening after work and spent weekends together, watching their favorite TV shows and playing card games. Wickboldt introduced Hayes to ice fishing, and now “she’s hooked,” she said.
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Hayes said she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Wickboldt the day she met him. “Travis made me feel like a beautiful person for the first time since having cancer,” she said.
He added, “Taylor and I had an instant connection, something I had never had with anyone else before.”
A year into dating, they began looking for a home to buy together. In May 2024, they moved into a ranch house near Beaver Dam Lake in Cumberland, where they continue to reside.
Hayes, 35, is from Menomonie, Wis. She is a school counselor for Cumberland Middle School. She holds a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies and a master’s degree in school counseling from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie.
Wickboldt, 34, grew up in Clear Lake, Wis. He is a crew leader for Lester Buildings, a construction company based in Lester Prairie, Minn.
In February 2025, Wickboldt proposed during a weekend getaway to Lake Superior in Michigan. They hiked a snowy trail one afternoon to reach a waterfall, and before they turned around to head back, Wickboldt grabbed Hayes’ hand and said, “One more thing before we go.” He dropped to one knee in the snow and proposed with a round diamond ring, the waterfall just behind them.
Several months later, the couple was selected by Zola as the winning pair for its “Wedding of the Year” campaign after the company found their wedding website on its platform.
They were married May 16 in front of 235 guests along a stream at Big Rock Creek, a camping and event venue in Saint Croix Falls, Wis. Christopher Pabich, a close friend of Hayes who was ordained by the Universal Life Church, officiated. Their nuptials featured a whiskey unity ceremony, in which they each poured whiskey from different bottles into a shared cask to represent their union.
Zola featured Hayes and Wickboldt in ads, social media and a Times Square billboard. The cost of their wedding was covered as part of the campaign.
Up until then, Hayes said, “no one really paid attention to them having the same first names as the other Taylor and Travis.”
“Now, we have people who recognize us every now and then,” Wickboldt said.
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