When it comes to celebrity wedding dresses, the moment everyone waits for is the reveal, and Black women in entertainment and sports have delivered some of the most talked about bridal looks in recent memory. Here is a look at the designers behind some of the biggest celebrity wedding gowns among couples still together today, along with what is publicly known about what they cost.
Serena Williams set the bar about as high as it can go when she married Alexis Ohanian in November 2017 in New Orleans. She worked directly with Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen, on a custom strapless princess gown topped with a cape. The full ensemble, including jewelry by XIV Karats, was reported at around $3.5 million, a figure covering the dress and diamonds together rather than the gown alone.
View this post on Instagram
Ciara wore a custom Roberto Cavalli Couture gown by Peter Dundas for her 2016 wedding to Russell Wilson at Peckforton Castle in England, made from white silk tulle with a floral motif and a train that reportedly stretched thirteen feet. No official price for the dress was ever released.
View this post on Instagram
Gabrielle Union wore a custom Dennis Basso ballgown for her 2014 wedding to Dwyane Wade, embellished with bugle beads, pearls, and crystals. A similar ready to wear version of the style retails for around $7,000.
View this post on Instagram
Beyoncé’s 2008 wedding dress for her ceremony with Jay-Z was designed by her own mother, Tina Knowles. For their 2018 vow renewal, she wore a Galia Lahav “Thelma” gown from the Victorian Affinity collection, reported at around $12,000.
View this post on Instagram
Tamera Mowry wore a Carolina Herrera gown for her 2011 wedding to Adam Housley in Napa Valley. Carolina Herrera bridal typically retails between $4,000 and $12,000, with more embellished pieces climbing past $20,000.
View this post on Instagram
Ayesha Curry chose a strapless taffeta gown by the late designer Amsale Aberra for her July 2011 wedding to Steph Curry, held at the church where the two first locked eyes, with a reception that followed at the Ballantyne Hotel in Charlotte. Amsale gowns typically retail between roughly $4,000 and $10,000. Years into the marriage, Steph surprised her with a vow renewal and picked out her dress himself, choosing a floral brocade Valentino gown.
Toya Johnson wore a bespoke, one of a kind two in one gown by Ese Azenabor, a Black owned bridal couture brand, for her October 2022 wedding to Robert “Red” Rushing in Cabo San Lucas. The custom piece featured hand placed pearl and crystal embellishments with a dramatic scalloped train, and no official price was ever released. It stands out as a strong entry in any roundup of celebrity wedding dresses because it puts a Black owned designer front and center rather than a legacy European maison.
View this post on Instagram
Issa Rae wore two custom Vera Wang Haute Couture gowns for her July 2021 wedding to Louis Diame in the South of France. For the ceremony, she chose a strapless ballgown with a sweetheart neckline detailed in hand placed Chantilly lace and hand sewn crystal beading. For the reception, she switched into a lily white Italian silk crepe A-line gown with a plunging V-neck, layered tulle skirt, and a dramatic front slit. Vera Wang’s haute couture line runs well above the brand’s ready to wear bridal pricing, though an exact figure for Rae’s custom pieces was never made public.
View this post on Instagram
Simone Biles wore four different looks across two ceremonies for her 2023 wedding to Jonathan Owens. For their courthouse wedding in Houston that April, she chose a roughly $120 tiered white gown from the online retailer Selfie Leslie. Weeks later, for their destination wedding in Cabo San Lucas, she wore three custom Galia Lahav gowns, including a version of the brand’s Gimaya gown for the ceremony itself, finished with a dramatic slit she said was designed to visually elongate her frame. The contrast between a budget courthouse find and multiple couture Galia Lahav gowns in the same wedding makes Biles one of the more surprising entries among celebrity wedding dresses on this list, proving the price tag was never really the point.
View this post on Instagram
Taken together, these nine looks show just how wide the range really is when Black women in entertainment and sports plan their weddings. Some brides lean into legacy European fashion houses and price tags that make headlines on their own, while others turn to Black owned bridal labels or even online retailers for pieces that cost a fraction of the couture options and still make just as strong an impression. What ties Serena Williams, Ciara, Gabrielle Union, Beyoncé, Tamera Mowry, Ayesha Curry, Toya Johnson, Issa Rae, and Simone Biles together is not the number on the receipt but the intention behind the choice, whether that meant flying in a McQueen creative director, commissioning a Black owned couture house, or grabbing a last minute courthouse dress for under $150. Celebrity wedding dresses will always draw attention for their price, but the more interesting story is usually the one behind the fabric, from a mother sewing her daughter’s gown by hand to a bride mixing high couture with something she found online days before saying “I do.
