Updated: Aug. 21, 2018, 9 p.m. EDT: This article was edited to include more details as they became available.
Real talk? When rapper, TV host and philanthropist 2 Chainz stopped the fashion show on the Met Gala red carpet in May by dropping to one knee to propose to longtime partner Kesha Ward, half our surprise was that we thought the Versace-clad couple was already married. After all, the rapper (real name: Tauheed Epps) made his first red carpet proposal at the 2013 BET Awards and has regularly called Ward his wife in the years since.
Reports are still mixed (and irrelevant) on whether they made it to the altar during that time, but the two made it undeniably official on Saturday, Aug. 18, as Epps, Ward and their three adorable children—Heaven, Harmony, and Halo—hosted guests at the Villa Casa Casuarina in Miami, best known as the former Versace mansion. “I know Tauheed has exotic taste, so I let him take the reins of the wedding [planning], but I gave him some guidance on what I was looking for,” said Ward of the lavish nuptials.
If you’re sensing an ornate Italian theme, you’re not alone—though surprisingly, the bride didn’t wear Versace. Her strapless lace and tulle mermaid silhouette was by Israeli designer Galia Lahav (who famously also created Beyoncé’s purported vow renewal dress). In place of a veil, Ward’s gown featured a flowing tulle cape with a voluminous train, leaving her hair free for a jeweled headpiece.
“A stylist friend helped me search and find this dress which, for me, was the perfect style and fit,” Ward told Vogue. “Classic and modern—definitely what I was looking for on the big day.”
As for the groom, he donned a custom tux by New York City tailor David Lance, whom Epps featured on his show Most Expensivest. “I had to call my guy to get a custom tux for the wedding to match my style,” he told Vogue. “For the reception, I wore Miguel Wilson Collection, a dope designer out of Atlanta.”
Also in attendance at the stylish nuptials? Close friend and groomsman Lil Wayne, whom Epps was also thrilled to get into a Miguel Wilson Collection tux; singer Monica, wearing a golden dress by Delor Designs; Kim Kardashian West, who stayed on-theme in neon-green latex Versace; and her husband, Kanye West, who nearly stole focus from the beautiful bride with the atrocious and ill-fitting socks-and-Yeezy slides combo he opted to pair with his linen-looking suit.
But if Kanye’s attire raised the ire of internet fashion critics everywhere, the mother of the groom certainly didn’t seem to mind. She was caught on camera hilariously letting Kardashian West know that if not for their age difference, she would “have some competition.”
The revelry rolled on to the reception, which took place at The Temple House. The Versace theme continued with projections of the house’s trademark baroque prints on the walls as family and friends enjoyed wedding cake from reality favorite Cake Boss and danced the night away, with the bride happily dropping it low to “Drunk in Love” and the groom performing a questionable lip-sync of R. Kelly’s “Bump n’ Grind.”
It may have been a long time coming, but in the end, 2 Chainz’ wedding was a decidedly black affair with a baroque flair—because never let it be said we don’t do it in epic style.
“I’m the drench god so the wedding had to be classy, but [was] definitely going to have some flash,” said the groom.
Congrats to the Epps family!