The wedding bells have rung for Danielle Brooks, the actress known for her role in Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black and for her Tony Award nomination for her role in the 2015 Broadway production of The Color Purple. Brooks debuted her wedding photos exclusively on Vogue, and we can’t get our minds off her gorgeous wedding gowns, so it was a must that we look into the designers on the tags of both dresses.
Brooks wore a three-in-one Christian Siriano dress to reveal herself to her groom as they gathered to take photos together before the formal ceremony. The dreamy ensemble transitioned from a princess gown, to a body-con dress, to a pants look perfect for celebratory dancing afterwards. However, in between the reveal and hitting the dance floor, Brooks walked down the aisle in her second wedding gown that was designed by Alonuko, a black-owned bridal brand founded by Gbemi Okunlola.
The bride described the Alunoko gown as the dress of her dreams to Vogue – it was an ethereal, flesh-toned mesh top that covered Brooks in white flowers, which were custom embroidered, and ran down her sleeves and seamlessly continued into the extravagant skirt. She wrote in the caption of her Instagram post, “It was very important to me to find a black wedding dress designer. When I tell you I hit jackpot finding @alonuko_bespoke, I hit jackpot. She was incredible to work with and even flew all the way from London two days before my wedding to make sure the dress arrived in time. Thank you for your talent and professionalism! Brides, hire her!!! Thank you for adding to my special day!”
Alonuko was originally created in 2013 by Nigerian designer Gbemi Okunlola as a brand that specialized in luxury womenswear and bridal wear. Since then, the brand has become well-known for their incredible, flesh-toned mesh designs that graciously accentuate the bride’s features and create the most beautiful, dreamy wedding moments.
The black-owned bridal brand is based in London and hosts initial consultations in their London studio with Okunlola. However, considering the brand’s international clientele, they also offer virtual consultations to fulfill wedding dreams around the world. Okunlola’s process follows with four fittings to achieve the perfect fit, and concludes with Okunlola being present on the special day to personally dress her clients and ensure the fairytale vision carries through.
Consultations are available for booking on alonuko.co, where you can also see the brand’s latest bridal collection – view the lookbook here.