Venus Williams and Andrea Preti's week-long wedding celebration: "I started to cry like a little kid"

Venus Williams is married! Well, turns out she's actually been married, but the tennis professional and her husband, Andrea Preti, had a second wedding over the weekend. The tennis professional and actor shared the news and photos with Vogue, and like we've seen with celebrity weddings recently, it was a full-blown week-long celebration of love, family, fashion, and fun. The couple first secretly tied the knot in Ischia, Italy, on September 18, earlier this fall. 

Venus told the outlet it was their dream to get married there, but they didn't have enough time to complete the paperwork because she's a foreigner, which is why they decided to do the second wedding. Their second weekend was in Palm Beach and started on Monday, six days before the ceremony. The week kicked off with a yacht day gifted by her sister Serena Williams, and she arranged everything, including the food. Around 12 of their closest family and friends were aboard.  

From there, Venus and Andrea opened their home daily for pool parties. It was a beautiful blend of their Italian and American families, with 25 of Preti's family members and friends traveling to the States to celebrate. Her boudoir-themed bridal shower took place on Tuesday on the couple’s patio. It was where Venus wore one of her whopping 12 looks, a dress by Kim Kassas. 

They had an asian fusion dinner, then the bridal party danced to Beyoncé and had a lip-synch battle. The events kept coming. On Wednesday, Preti organized an Italian dinner at the members’ club Sopra in Miami for 35 of their guests.  On Thursday, they leaned into their love of sports with an athletic day filled with tennis, volleyball, dodgeball, and pickleball.

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Friday started bright and early with the couple waking up at 4 am and arriving at 6:45 for an intimate courthouse ceremony. For the courthouse, Venus wore a custom Morilee New York dress, one of 10 designs made just for her, even though she asked for 1. When they left, she had an outfit ready not to draw attention: "a classic short skirt and top, and I had the perfect headpiece for it. Then we had breakfast afterward, and our day got started," she told Vogue. Preti called the courthouse ceremony "unique, emotional, and deep,” adorable, adding, "It was the second-best day of my life," after the wedding.

For their main wedding ceremony on Saturday, she changed into a sparkling Georges Hobeika gown, which she tracked down during Paris Fashion Week. "I wanted to wear a dress that I thought Andrea would love and that was magical and perfect for a Florida wedding," she explained.

© Backgrid UK/The Grosby Group

Preti walked down the aisle with his mother to “I’ll Be There” by the Jackson 5, while Venus made her entrance to “Ovunque Sarai” by Irama, a song that Preti says reminds him of his grandma, who passed during COVID. "When V and I were dating, I asked her to listen to this song and told her how it was important to me. I never expected she would use this song. When it played, I started to cry like a little kid," he said.

The couple exchanged personal vows in both English and Italian, then recessed to Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” Their first dance was to “I Only Have Eyes for You” by the Flamingos.

The night didn’t end there. Guests piled onto a bus for an after-party that lasted into the early hours of the morning. Preti did not make it to the after-party, though. "He had to get some rest with our dog. But I jumped on," Venus said, adding, “They were popping Sexyy Red and French Montana" until 2 am.