Venus Williams marries Italian partner Andrea Preti in Florida… and sister Serena gifts her an astonishing wedding present

Tennis star Venus Williams married her partner, Italian actor and model Andrea Preti, in a second ceremony in Florida over the weekend, months after tying the knot for the first time in Italy.

The happy couple hosted six days of lavish dinners and celebrations in Palm Beach, Florida, with their closest friends and family. And Williams said Vogue He said his sister Serena even gifted him a yacht to accommodate some wedding guests.

Williams explained how the romantic week began: ‘Serena gifted us a beautiful yacht and arranged all the meals, everything.

‘There were 10 to 12 of our closest family and friends in town on the boat and we were singing, dancing, gossiping and just enjoying each other.’

Williams, 45, and Preti, 37, opted for a second wedding because it could take up to eight months for the paperwork confirming their first marriage, to be held in Italy in September, to become official.

They welcomed members of her family to the United States just before Christmas and hosted dinners and pool parties leading up to the big day.

The couple, whose photographs were taken in New York at the beginning of this year, had their wedding ceremony in Italy in September.

During the ceremony, Williams recited his vows to Preti in both English and Italian before joining the party in the early hours of Saturday morning.

“It was the happiest, most beautiful, sweetest day,” said Venus, while Preti added: “When I saw Venus, she was as beautiful as a goddess.” ‘I was crying and I was happy.’

Williams shared photos from the big day on Instagram Tuesday morning; One of the photos showed her sister Serena singing with a group.

‘Guess what I did this weekend?’ She added a caption to a photo of herself in her wedding dress that she published as a story. He followed this by adding: ‘Yes, that’s true! We got married! It was and still is a dream!’

Williams and Preti met at a fashion show in Milan in 2024, and the tennis legend, who had been single for six years at the time, almost jumped.

‘I was in Lake Como for a sister’s trip, I got an invitation at the last minute and decided to go on a whim and Andrea was tired. “Neither of us planned to be there,” she explained to Vogue.

After the first date in Italy, they had breakfast in London and Williams said: ‘I knew I was going to marry him. People always say they just know, and I just knew.’

Williams announced she and Preti were engaged back in July after winning a comeback tennis match at the D.C. Open — 16 months after she last played competitively due to the removal of fibroids in her uterus.

The couple first met at a fashion show in Milan in 2024 and had a wedding ceremony twice.

Speaking to Vogue, Venus said that her younger sister Serena gave her a yacht as a gift for her wedding.

He then addressed the crowd: ‘My fiancée is here and she’s really encouraged me to keep playing,’ she said, to huge cheers and applause.

‘There were many times when I just wanted to go ashore and cool off a bit. Do you know how difficult it is to play tennis? You don’t know how much work goes into this, it’s like you’re working from 9 to 5, just running all the time.

‘Lifting weights and just like dying and the next day you do it again. So he encouraged me to get over it and it’s great to be here. “He’s never seen me play.”

Speculation first began that Preti popped the question when Williams was spotted training in Italy in February with a huge ring on her wedding finger.

Speaking about her health issues at the DC Open in July, Williams said: ‘At the end of the day, (tennis) doesn’t really matter if your health isn’t there. That definitely put it in perspective for me and made it easier for me to make the decision to maybe come back here and maybe play more freely.

‘Where I am this year is very different from where I was last year. ‘To be here and prepare for the tournament instead of preparing for surgery a year ago is night and day.’

Venus said at the DC Open in July that she got engaged and referred to Preti as her fiancee.

That day saw Preti play tennis live for the first time in her highly anticipated comeback.

While sister Serena has been married to Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian since 2017, Venus has remained single for most of her sports career.

However, in October 2022, he admitted that he was ready to move in with the right person.

“I’ve had one life for a long time, and I think it’s really easy to get stuck in one life, and sometimes it’s harder — at least for me — to break free of that,” he told Gamour.

‘It makes you think about yourself, what you want and how you will behave. When life changes, you need to know when to change.’