Single Ladies star Denise Vasi changed her status when she wed photographer and director Anthony Mandler at a California vineyard on October 14, 2013.
The artistic couple met in 2011 when Mandler directed a music video where Vasi was a leading lady. When she first spotted him, Vasi declared she’d found her husband.
The couple selected a villa in Santa Ynez, California for their wedding weekend with their closest friends. “It was like a dream when I found that place,” Vasi says.
While getting ready for her wedding, Vasi could hear her wedding singer Jennifer Hudson completing her sound check. “She was literally just rehearsing and had us in tears,” she says. “It was amazing.”
When Vasi got the news she was cast as Raquel in Single Ladies and she’d have to move to Atlanta for filming, Mandler came with her and got her things organized and settled while she spent days on set. “There are so many things I love about him. He puts me before anything else.”
Mandler proposed while the couple watched the sunset on their first day in Greece in 2012.
The couple worked to keep the guest list to those they could call if the relationship ever needed a boost. “We treated it as if they would be taking vows with us,” Vasi shares. “During the ceremony it was discussed with our guests they were invited to give us the love and support that we need in our marriage.”
“He knows what I want, what I need and he just does it,” Vasi says of her husband. “Those mornings when I wake up and he knows I have an audition, he has [already] gone out to get my favorite thing for breakfast. I don’t have to ask him. He just does it on his own.”
No one was more surprised by her wedding than Vasi, who thought she’d never marry. But good love can convert any of us from a single lady.
“We have a lot going on,” she says. “When things just get really chaotic, you have to remind yourself it’s a blessing. God never gives you any more than you can handle.”
So does the husband of a Single Ladies star watch the show? “Of course,” Vasi says. “There are definitely a few episodes where I’m like please don’t watch, like that tantric sex scene.”
The couple made their own traditions for their wedding. “I walked part of the aisle by myself because I’ve been living on my own since I was a teenager,” Vasi says. “Then my stepfather walked me further down to my grandfather, who presented me to Anthony.”
The creative couple are excited to create a life together – starting with building their home.
As two foodies, the bride and groom had a lot of fun with their menu. Options included a slider station with more than 25 sauces.
The couple’s African honeymoon included helicopter rides, scuba diving, a safari and more as they visited Tanzania, Mozambique and Mnemba island.
For their first date, Mandler taught his bride how to ride a bike so they could take a scenic ride and dine at an Italian restaurant. When they got there, he’s rented out the entire space just for them.
The couple used the hashtag #vasiandmandlermerge throughout planning and encouraged couples to post to Instagram during the wedding weekend.
What you can’t see is that the back of these chairs says “99 problems” on his and “ain’t one” on hers. “Everyone can easily take themselves, careers and relationships so seriously. I love that he can just be, like, a goofball like me,” the bride says.
Vasi wore a Kleinfeld–exclusive mermaid gown designed by Mark Zunino.
“We’ve been in newlywed glow since we met,” Vasi says.
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