According to an exclusive with PEOPLE Jillian Michaels and DeShanna Marie Michaels said “I do” for a third time!
The fitness trainer, 49, and her fashion designer wife tied the knot at the Aman hotel, one of eight monumental palazzos on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy on June 24.
The epic three-day celebration kicked off on Friday with a chic sunset welcome dinner at the Belmond Cipriani, where the brides, both wearing Dolce and Gabbana, dined with friends and family against a stunning view of the romantic city.
Guests arrived by mahogany Venetian boats where they were greeted with champagne before a three-course dinner of tomato steak salad with samphire and pumpkin seed sauce, ricotta and spinach mezzelune with aged parmesan, plus scallops with a pistachio sauce and potato puree.
The wedding weekend extravaganza culminated on Saturday night, when Jillian and DeShanna, 38, walked down the aisle hand in hand and exchanged personal vows in front of 50 guests. During the intimate ceremony, Jillian, who got emotional while reading her vows, “I didn’t think I was going to cry!” she said, surprised DeShanna with a stunning 7 carat emerald wedding ring with diamond baguettes.
“She’s beautiful, she’s funny and she’s so creative, Jillian tells PEOPLE. “But all that shiny stuff in the beginning doesn’t last. So what makes you say to yourself, ‘I want to walk alongside this human for the rest of my life.’ And I take that really seriously. I’m 49. I’ve never married anyone. I just didn’t believe that there was a human I could do that with until DeShanna.”
Jillian continues: “What made me believe it, and her more than anything, is truly what we’ve been through and the quality of her character, her strength, her empathy and her intelligence.”
During the ceremony, which was planned with the help of Design Anarchy Studio, DeShanna wore a boat neck mermaid Zuhair Murad gown adorned with cascades of asymmetrical handmade beadwork with a faille overskirt and bow detailing. The dress took over a year to create. Jillian also opted for a black dress with sheer sleeves and beaded applique by the same designer.
Following their vows, the celebration continued with a cocktail hour in the hotel’s picturesque garden, where waiters served aperol spritz cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres.
Guests then sat down in the Baroque-style palace for a candlelit dinner of tuna tartare, paccheri cacio e pepe and fillet with courgettes cream and a saffron and Amarone reduction. Decor featured custom made table linens, dark and blush garden roses, glass candelabras and delicate handmade Murano glass flowers.
Following dinner, guests took boats to Chiesetta della Misericordia, a historic church that was converted into custom nightclub for the masquerade after party, where dancing went on late into the night and acrobats performed on a disco ball.
“DeShanna comes from a very big Italian family and it’s her favorite country in the world,” says Jillian of their destination wedding. “She planned the entire thing.”
This is the couple’s third time exchanging vows. In November 2021, Jillian proposed with a 7-carat emerald-cut diamond ring which was designed by a family friend at H&H Jewels in Miami. She announced the news on Instagram, writing, “1153 days… here’s to thousands more. She said ‘yes’ ❤️.”
They married first on July 11, 2022 at a Miami courthouse with a small group and friends and family including Jillian’s two children Lukensia, 13, and Phoenix, 10, before traveling to Namibia for an intimate ceremony later that year.
“She really is my best friend and my rock,” says DeShanna who first met Michaels on Raya, a members-only dating app. “She has this insatiable desire to learn and that’s really been such an amazing thing for me and for us as a couple just to grow together.”
The day after the wedding celebration, guests enjoyed a farewell garden brunch at the renowned Locanda Cipriani on the island of Torcello.
Ahead of their big day, DeShanna told PEOPLE that she and Jillian were looking forward to “having people on both sides that have meant a lot to us throughout the years come together and celebrate in one place.”
Adds Jillian: It’s a dream come true. It’s us two against the world. No matter what, we have each other, we have each other’s backs.”
Congratulations to them!
