Serena Williams' Wedding Dress Was Stunning & The Photos Will Take Your Breath Away
If you haven't yet heard, Serena Williams is now a married woman. The new mom wed her now-husband Alexis Ohanian this week in New Orleans. The ceremony was beautiful and star-studded, and at the center of it all was Williams, looking gorgeous in her custom wedding gown. These photos of Serena Williams' wedding dress are beyond stunning, and there's a good chance that they will give you some major dress envy.
Williams and Ohanian got engaged in December of 2016 and they tied the knot on Nov. 16 at the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. It truly was a beautiful ceremony, and the couple looked so in love. It was impossible not to notice Williams, though, in her ball gown made by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, according to Vogue.
The white strapless belted-ball gown, complete with a cape, was custom-made for Williams, and you could tell. Believe it or not, a fairytale-inspired princess gown was not what Williams had always envisioned. Williams surprised herself with the design that she chose. When Williams traveled to London to meet with Sarah Burton, the dress designer, she found herself "falling in love with the ball gown silhouette" even though it was "completely opposite" of what Williams had always envisioned for herself.
Whether it was her original vision or not, she pulled off the look flawlessly.
It's been a very special few months for Williams and Ohanian. The newlyweds welcomed their first child together back in September. Their baby girl Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. was born on Sept. 1. You can see that little Alexis got in on the dress game, too.
The only thing that's almost as eye-catching as Williams' gown is the love that is coming through these photos.
Of course, the wedding day was special, but the date itself also has special significance. Ohanian's mother passed away nine years ago on Nov. 16, so choosing that date was the perfect way to make sure she was "represented at the wedding," Williams explained to Vogue.
Family is one of the most important parts of a wedding, but the pair had no shortage of friends (celebrity friends, to be specific) in attendance of the ceremony. Some of the famous faces who enjoyed the evening as wedding guests included Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Kim Kardashian West, Anna Wintour, Ciara, and LaLa Anthony. After they watched Williams and Ohanian exchange vows in a ceremony that Williams described as "nontraditional as possible," they got to see Williams enter the reception in another beautiful dress.
Williams decided to forgo the ball gown look in favor of a more dance-friendly dress. It was a white beaded and feathered Versace dress that landed just around her knees, and it was the prefect way to seamlessly transition from ceremony to reception.
There's good reason the dress looks impeccable, too. According to Vogue, a team of five embroiderers worked for 1,500 hours to make sure that every detail was perfect. Sure, that sounds like long time, but just one look at the dress in the picture and there's no doubt that it was totally worth it.
Two dresses and one beautiful bride.
After Williams put on her second dress, she could relax and enjoy the reception, and what a reception it was. Guests dined at one of four long tables, and each one was named after one of Williams' Grand Slam wins. Since Williams is arguably one the greatest tennis players to ever play the game, it makes sense that the reception would nod to her athletic greatness. Another fun touch was that the guests found their places thanks to the trophy-style place cards.
Even though the reception was beautifully decorated with birdcages encasing chandeliers and “black lamé” table linens, it's likely that guests (and her new husband) had a hard time keeping their eyes off of the bride and her gorgeous gowns. Hey, you can't really blame them, though, because Williams in those dresses deserves to be the center of attention. OK, you can go look at the pictures again now — I know you want to.
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