Photo: Nicole Ivanov @nicoleivanovphoto
Sydney McLaughlinhad a change of heart when it came to her wedding dress.
The Olympic track and field athlete, 22, told PEOPLE exclusively that selecting a gown for her big day was “the most stressful part” of wedding planning. In fact, she decided to wear her sparklingPallas Couture dressonly weeks beforetying the knotwith her now husband Andre Levrone Jr. on Friday.
“I always envisioned myself in a ball gown, just because I wanted something that had a really long train,” she shared. “So in September I went and found a dress and signed for it, but then three weeks later, I started having second guesses. I was like, ‘I’m not sure about this.'”
NICOLE IVANOV PHOTO
McLaughlin — whowon gold in the women’s 400m hurdlesat the Tokyo Olympics — revealed she was no longer “excited to walk down in the aisle in” the gown after her first dress fitting in March.
“I was worried because I was like, ‘there’s not a lot of time left, we’re less than two months away,’ so we made some really quick calls thanks to my agent Jill and got on the phone with like, the place I’ve always wanted my dream dress from in Australia,” she explained. “She was able to get us in contact and they actually rush made my dress in three weeks.”
“I just got it this week and it’s amazing. It’s completely different from a ball gown, so I’ll say that,” she added.
The couple — whogot engagedin August 2021 — focused on being “present” during the ceremony, they both told PEOPLE.
“With having the majority of all of our planning and whatever anxiety out of the way beforehand, as we stood at the altar and looked each other in the eye, we literally, like, held eternity in that moment,” Levrone Jr. added.
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Now, the couple plans to enjoy married life together and find ways to continue to support each other.
“Ultimately, just getting to wake up next to your best friend and tackle whatever challenges the day has is so exciting,” said McLaughlin.
“I have a vision in life, she has a vision in life, and we just kind of merged our visions,” Levrone Jr. added. “And being able to just model that the two of us are partners and what I like to call ‘co-laborers’ in life. And in this season of life, me primarily supporting her and her dream and her calling, is fun for me. And just knowing how supportive she is of me as well and in the long term.”
Lindsay Kimble
source: people.com
