Orange Is The New Black star Danielle Brooks married her partner Dennis Gelin during an extravagant ceremony held at the historic Alfred DuPont Building in Miami.
The actress, who played Tasha “Taystee” Jefferso in the show for all seven seasons, walked down the aisle in a dreamy wedding gown by Black designer Oluwagbemisola Okunlola and her London-based luxury label Alonuko.
Discussing her decision, she told Vogue: ‘It was also important to me to highlight a Black designer. I feel like when it comes to the wedding process, Black creatives aren’t highlighted enough’.
Epic: Orange Is The New Black star Danielle Brooks married her partner Dennis Gelin during an extravagant ceremony held at the historic Alfred DuPont Building in Miami
‘Alonuko gave me the dress of my dreams. She flew all the way from London to make sure it arrived. I knew I wanted her one-of-a-kind, flesh-toned mesh with custom embroidery and a big huge skirt.
‘Wearing her dress made me want to get married every day, I loved it so much.’
As for accessories, Danielle was gifted a pair of stunning Chanel earrings from her stylist Kelly Augustine and she slipped her feet into a pair of Nina heels.
All of Dennis’ groomsmen were decked out in custom suits by Garçon Couture NYC.
‘It was also important to me to highlight a Black designer. I feel like when it comes to the wedding process, Black creatives aren’t highlighted enough,’ she explained to Vogue
Starring role: Danielle played Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson in Orange Is The New Black for seven seasons (pictured on the show in 2019)
For her second gown – which she first revealed to Gelin during their ‘first look’ ahead of the ceremony – Danielle slipped into a custom number by longtime pal Christian Siriano.
‘We thought it would be best to do a first look reveal so that we could go ahead with bridal party pictures and not hold up our guests after the ceremony,’ she explained.
The stunning creation seamlessly transformed from a princess gown to a body-con dress to pants as the night progressed.
Glamorous gift: As for accessories, Danielle was gifted a pair of stunning Chanel earrings from her stylist Kelly Augustine and she slipped her feet into a pair of Nina heels
Brooks said she ‘decided to wear Christian Siriano for the reveal’ because she and the designer have ‘been friends ever since my career first began.’
Danielle and Dennis’ wedding was officiated by the actress’ hometown pastor and she was walked down the aisle by her father Dunel.
‘Getting to walk down the aisle with my dad, Dunnel, who just had hip surgery after living with pain for two years, meant the world to me,’ she gushed.
Flower girl: Danielle and Dennis had their two-year-old daughter serve as flower girl
They also performed a ‘daddy-daughter dance’ at the reception.
Danielle shared footage of the ‘epic’ performance with her 2.4million Instagram followers.
As for their choice to hold the ceremony in Miami, the Brooklyn-based couple told Vogue that they chose the location because it would be warm in winter.
Meant the world: ‘Getting to walk down the aisle with my dad, Dunnel, who just had hip surgery after living with pain for two years, meant the world to me,’ she gushed
Daddy-daughter dance: They also performed a ‘daddy-daughter dance’ at the reception
Danielle and Dennis had their two-year-old daughter serve as flower girl, while Broadway stars Jeremy Pope and Amber Iman performed the love songs A Thousand Years and We Will Never Break.
‘There wasn’t a dry eye in the building,’ she recalled, before admitting that her and her husband ‘cried the ugly cry, and laughed hard’ while performing a wax seal ceremony.
‘Dennis and I did our personal handshake and jumped the broom in honor of our ancestors. It was definitely a night to remember.’
Next look: For her second gown – which she first revealed to Gelin during their ‘first look’ ahead of the ceremony – Danielle slipped into a custom number by longtime pal Christian Siriano
For the ‘Chocolate Love’ themed reception, guests learned their seating assignments via chocolate truffles wrapped in gold.
The couple’s wedding planner Darryl Moore told Vogue that D’Concierge Wedding ‘worked to make the space feel like guests were dining in a box of Godiva chocolates with decor in a palette of jewel tones and gold.’
Dinner was catered by CJ’s Masterpiece, which is described as the ‘ultimate culinary experience’ on their website.
Danielle rehashed all of the tweaks they had to make to their ceremony due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which has continued to surge across the nation.
Reception time! For the ‘Chocolate Love’ themed reception, guests learned their seating assignments via chocolate truffles wrapped in gold
Special: The couple’s wedding planner Darryl Moore told Vogue that D’Concierge Wedding ‘worked to make the space feel like guests were dining in a box of Godiva chocolates with decor in a palette of jewel tones and gold’
Ultimate: Dinner was catered by CJ’s Masterpiece , which is described as the ‘ultimate culinary experience’ on their website
Last-minute adjustments: Danielle rehashed all of the tweaks they had to make to their ceremony due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which has continued to surge across the nation
‘Everything was going pretty well until Omicron hit the country. It was a bit too late in the process to turn back, so we added extra precautions with required PCR tests and rapid tests the day of the wedding,’ she explained.
I have to say our wedding planner, D’Concierge, was out of this world amazing. He never panicked and kept us levelheaded during the ups and downs.’
Brooks and Gelin got engaged on New Year’s Eve in 2020 after dating for several years. The proposal came just one month after the birth of their daughter.
Love story: Brooks and Gelin got engaged on New Year’s Eve in 2020 after dating for several years. The proposal came just one month after the birth of their daughter
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