Singer Ciara is a married woman after tying the knot with American footballer Russell Wilson in the English countryside.
Ciara became engaged to Russell in March (16) after less than a year of dating, and on Wednesday, the couple became husband and wife.
More than 100 guests attended the nuptials, which took place at the historic Peckforton Castle in Cheshire, England, and former Destiny’s Child star Kelly Rowland and U.S. media personality Lala Anthony served as bridesmaids.
Serena Williams was reportedly set to be Ciara’s third bridesmaid, but the sports superstar had to skip the celebrations as she prepares to compete in the semi-finals at London’s Wimbledon tennis championships on Thursday (07Jul16).
According to E! News, the bride wore a custom Roberto Cavalli dress, which had been specially designed by the luxury label’s creative director, Peter Dundas.
Other guests at the wedding included Jennifer Hudson, who documented her preparations for the event on social media.
She was unable to post any snaps from the ceremony itself as all attendees reportedly had to hand over their cell phones before it began to avoid any photos leaking online, reports TMZ.com.
Ciara and Russell celebrated their impending wedding on Tuesday night (05Jul16) with a rehearsal dinner at the Titanic Hotel in nearby Liverpool.
The marriage is Ciara’s first, although the 30-year-old was previously engaged to rapper Future, the father of her son Future Zahir. The former couple initially split in August, 2014, just three months after becoming parents, and parted ways for good that October (14).
Russell, the 27-year-old star quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, was married to Ashton Meem from 2012 to 2014.
The newlyweds famously took a vow of celibacy early on in their relationship, at the request of devout Christian Russell, but Ciara admitted in February (16) she was struggling to keep her hands off her man.
“It’s going pretty good (sic), we’re hanging in there,” she told Cosmopolitan magazine of the pair’s no-sex rule. “I’m not gonna lie. I’m human, so it is not easy, especially when I look at him and I think he is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, that I’ve ever laid my eyes on, to be honest.”
Wilson went public with the couple’s no-sex-before-marriage agreement last year (Apr15) during an interview about his faith.
“She completely agreed,” Russell told Pastor Miles McPherson at California’s Rock Church. “(We were like), ‘Can we love each other without that?’ If you can love somebody without that, then you can really love somebody.”
But he confessed he was having a hard time staying away from his then-girlfriend, admitting, “I ain’t gonna lie, I need ya’ll to pray for us, because I know you have seen her on the screen now. If there’s a 10, she’s a 15. Pray for me, keep my mind clear, keep my heart clear.”
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