Inside Venus Williams and Andrea Preti’s Five-Day Wedding at Home in Palm Beach

Their first wedding was on September 18 in Ischia, Italy. “We had this dream to do our wedding in Italy,” Venus explains. “But we didn’t have enough time to do the paperwork—because I’m a foreigner, it can take about eight months. So we decided to have a second wedding.”

This second wedding, held in Palm Beach, focused more on Venus’s Florida roots. Planned by Jennifer Zabinski of JZ Events, who also organized her sister Serena’s 2017 wedding, the week of events started a full six days before the ceremony and featured a jam-packed itinerary—along with lots of windy weather. “They always say weddings go so fast, and they do,” Venus says. “We started on Monday. Serena gave us this gift of a beautiful yacht, and she arranged all the food, everything. We had 10 to 12 of our closest family and friends who were in town on the boat, and we were singing, dancing, gossiping, and just enjoying each other.”

Venus wanted to soak up as much time as possible with friends and family, so each day she and Andrea hosted a pool party at their house. “We love welcoming people into our home every single day, and everyone was eager to have fun with us,” says Venus. “It was the Italians and the Americans all together.” Twenty-five of Andrea’s closest family and friends had come over from Italy for the celebration: “My partners in my restaurant, my brother, and his fiancée,” says Andrea, who is co-owner of an organic restaurant in Rome. “It’s not an easy flight to come here, especially right before Christmas.”

On Tuesday, the bridal shower took place on the back patio of the couple’s home, and was boudoir-themed. “I like to have a lot of fun,” says Venus, who wore a dress by Kim Kassas for the event with David Yurman jewelry. “I couldn’t pick one dress, and then Kesha [McLeod, her stylist] came on board.” Of the fact they pulled together over a dozen looks for the wedding week, Venus adds, “She didn’t realize I was so crazy.” Venus didn’t have time to attend Bridal Fashion Week because of her intense training schedule. “So I attended via Instagram,” Venus says. “I was on Stories, watching everything. It felt like I had a front-row seat.” After an Asian fusion dinner, Venus and her bridal party just wanted to dance—specifically, to Beyoncé. “We all channeled our inner Beyoncé,” Venus says. “Everyone had to choose a song, and we did a lip-synch battle.” (Serena even wore her look from Beyoncé’s “Sorry” music video for the occasion.)

On Wednesday, after a pool party, Venus, Andrea, and 35 of their closest family and friends headed down to Miami for a romantic dinner at the members’ club Sopra, upstairs at the Forte dei Marmi restaurant, for an Italian dinner organized by Andrea. Then, on Thursday, they held a sports day, with volleyball, tennis, dodgeball, wheelbarrow races, and pickleball. “I didn’t want to be the team captain—I just wanted to be on the team with my husband,” says Venus. “I was mostly focused on just looking cute. When I was going through the obstacle course, I kept thinking about how I didn’t want to break the strap on my dress.”

On Friday, the couple woke up at 4 a.m. for their courthouse wedding and arrived at 6:45 a.m. so they could have it entirely to themselves. “I can’t describe how beautiful, calm, sacred, exciting, and exalting it was,” Venus says. “It was just a dream.”

The dress she wore to the courthouse was by Morilee New York. “I asked for one dress,” Venus remembers. “They made 10 dresses, all custom. The dress I ended up wearing was just divine. I also had an outfit to wear when we left so I wouldn’t draw attention to myself. It was a classic short skirt and top, and I had the perfect headpiece for it. Then we had breakfast afterward, and our day got started.”

“For me, the courthouse ceremony was very unique, emotional, and deep,” Andrea says. “It was the second-best day of my life.” (After the wedding itself, of course.)

On the morning of the wedding, Venus woke up at 8:30 a.m.—late by her standards, she notes—and started getting ready. “I got the most amazing nails by Gina Edwards, and I wore the most incredible dress by Georges Hobeika,” Venus says. “I wanted to wear a dress that I thought Andrea would love and that was magical and perfect for a Florida wedding.” She had wanted to try it on before the wedding, but a sample wasn’t available. “I was in Paris for a day, and I said, ‘I have to go try this dress.’ It was during Fashion Week. It was crazy, but somehow we made it work. I wanted my sister [Isha] to come up, and when she did, she started crying. It was just perfect. The way it sparkles, the transparency—it reminds me of the ocean and sea.” Once she was dressed, Venus went to check everything out as the finishing touches were applied to the stage and the flowers were being placed. “Sometimes, as a bride, you can spend all of your time getting ready and not get to experience the day,” Venus says. “Who wants to sit in the makeup chair all day?”

The same morning, Andrea woke up early and went out to breakfast with his parents. “They were all so excited,” he said. “I was so calm. My mama kept asking: ‘How can you be so calm?’ I said: ‘Mama, I know what I wanted. I’m committed already. It’s something very, very deep for me.’”

As the ceremony began, Andrea walked out with his mom to “I’ll Be There” by the Jackson 5. “That represented what my mother is to Venus,” Andrea says. “No matter what, she’ll be there.”

Then, Venus walked out to “Ovunque Sarai” by Irama. “The song is very special to me,” Andrea says. “It reminds me of my 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. My family couldn’t understand why I was crying so much, but my mom, she knew. ‘It’s a song for Nonna,’ she told my father.” Still, Andrea’s focus was entirely on the bride. “When I saw Venus, she was beautiful, like a goddess,” Andrea says. “I was crying and happy. I know my grandmother was there, looking down at us.”

The couple wrote their own vows. “We got up there and had the best time,” Venus says. “I finished [my vows] in English, and Andrea told me that I had to do them in Italian.” While Venus was nervous about this element of the day, Andrea confirms that “she speaks Italian very, very well. She’s just shy about it.” The newlyweds recessed to Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” and after entering the reception, they danced to “I Only Have Eyes for You” by the Flamingos. (Venus notes that Andrea got to pick the first-dance song this time, as she got to pick in Italy.)

After dinner and dancing, a bus brought everyone to the after-party. “Andrea went to sleep—God bless his soul,” says Venus. “He had to get some rest with our dog. But I jumped on. They were popping Sexyy Red and French Montana, and we were dancing on the bus.” After dancing until the early hours at Sophia’s Hobe Sound, the group was eventually “kicked out” at 2 a.m., Venus recalls with a laugh. “We all love each other so much,” she adds. “It was just the happiest, most beautiful, sweetest day.”