Kristin Chenoweth got married over the weekend! The singer-actress-author-diva became engaged to musician Josh Bryant in October 2021, five years after meeting and after three years of dating. For me personally, this wedding comes after approximately 68 updates from my mother: “Kristin Chenoweth is engaged! To a younger man!” “Did you see Kristin got engaged? Her fiance is younger!” “Kristin’s getting married to a younger man!” So for the sake of love, and my voice mail inbox, I’m thrilled with this news. And in fitting with the summer of Barbie, the blushing bride wore not one but two pink gowns to the wedding on Saturday in Dallas. People magazine got exclusive details:
No more bachelorette: “I have been a self-proclaimed bachelorette my whole life,” Chenoweth tells PEOPLE. “I was never going to get married. I even got engaged before and couldn’t do it. Until I met Josh. Then I was like, ‘Why would I ever let this guy go?’ I’m so blessed.”
Thunder stealing the show: The pair kicked off their weekend wedding festivities on Friday with a rehearsal dinner at Capital Grille and a Baskin-Robbins custom cake for dessert, before joining their 140 guests at a private residence on Saturday for the “I do’s.” A string quartet played from the home’s balcony as the couple’s friends and family members took their seats. At the start of the ceremony, the couple’s dog Thunder, who served as their ring bearer, made her grand entrance to AC/DC’s befitting hit “Thunderstruck.”
She didn’t want a white gown: For her walk down the aisle, Chenoweth chose a Pamella Roland gown with a sheer nude and pink overlay and bow detail at the back. “I didn’t want to wear white,” she explains of the structured dress that featured tiny pearl flowers on the bodice. “Simple and elegant. I never thought I’d get married, so I went very nontraditional with the gown. I love it.”
Think pink: “Without having to even ask Kristin, I knew that the theme would probably be pink-oriented in some way,” says Bryant. For Chenoweth, it was important to stay true to herself for the big moment. “On that day, I want to look and feel like Kristin, and I want Josh to see the girl that he has been with for five years,” she told PEOPLE ahead of the ceremony. “I’m going to look glamorous and all that, but my hair isn’t going to be up to heaven, even though we’ll be in Texas. It’s going to look like me.” Adds Bryant with a laugh: “Don’t let her fool you. Normal to Kristin is like 110%.”
Food & drinks: Following the emotional vows, guests sipped on specialty cocktails including the “Wicked Margarita,” a nod to Chenoweth’s run as Glinda the Good Witch on the Broadway smash hit, plus a “Bryant Old Fashioned” and “Thundertini” Martini. A “southern comfort”-inspired dinner included beef tenderloin, whipped potatoes and haricot verts, plus chicken, steak fries and fried pickles. Pasta was also served with chicken or meatballs and salads with flatbreads.
The cake, plus other desserts: For dessert, the newlyweds cut into their five-tier Mexican vanilla bean wedding cake with buttercream filling. Each table was also delivered a special box full of sweets that included Belgian chocolate bon bons, chocolate salami, and gourmet cookies by Nacho Aguirre from Delice Chocolatier San Antonio. Chenoweth’s favorites Dunkin Donuts and 7-11 Slurpees were served as late-night snacks and each guest went home with a gift bag full of goodies including Nest candles, Nivea Chapstick, Doritos, Fiji Water, and Fontus Lozenges.
Their meet cute: The couple first connected in 2016 at a wedding for Kristin’s niece where Bryant’s band, Backroad Anthem, performed. Two years later, Chenoweth’s nephew tied the knot and Bryant’s band provided the musical entertainment again. We had become friends by this time, and that’s when he came on strong,” recalls Chenoweth… While Chenoweth wasn’t expecting to fall in love, their connection was undeniable. “I guess it was the right time,” she says. “God knew what he was doing with that. Josh is 14 years younger than me, and I thought that was ridiculous. I’m never going to do that in my life, ever. But he’s made me feel very confident and beautiful and loved at any age.”
About damn time: For Chenoweth, saying “I do” to Bryant has been a long time in the making. “It’s about damn time!” jokes Chenoweth. “All my family would be saying that about me. But for me, this wedding isn’t a dream come true for me because I never dreamed it would happen. It’s almost revelatory. Like if you open yourself up to love, to true love, what can happen.”
So the Pamella Roland gown mentioned above is what Kristin wore to the ceremony, and for the reception she wore a second pink Roland gown — with pink sneakers! — that also featured a prominent bow. You can check out more shots of both dresses here. I am not married, but should the day ever come I too would opt for a non-white look, mostly because I hate being told what to do. It’s also why I try to avoid eating turkey on Thanksgiving. Maybe this year I’ll try “chocolate salami,” which as a lifelong salami lover I’m ashamed to say I’d never heard of until now.
I love that Kristin is candid about how marriage was never her ultimate dream, but she opened up to changing when the right person came along. There’s a relaxed approach to that view that I hope lands with young women. Divahood first, marriage later! In conclusion: Kristin Chenoweth is a pint-sized espresso shot of sunshine and I wish her and her new hubby (and their little dog, too!) all the happiness in the world.
My forever – 9.2.2023 👰♀️❤️🤵♂️ pic.twitter.com/ErAMgHEjPZ
— Kristin Chenoweth (@KChenoweth) September 5, 2023
photos credit: Janet Mayer/startraksphoto.com/Cover Images and via Instagram/People Magazine and Kristin Chenoweth
She definitely likes a giant pink bow. They are adorable and I hope them all the best.
Thunder is totally adorable and having Thunderstruck start the bridal march like it’s a hockey game is outstanding. I hope she run out of a tunnel.
Fun fact / I took a master class from a former dance teacher of hers and the teacher told the story of how, when Kristin first hit it big, she paid for the professor to fly to NYC, ride around in a limo, see Wicked, the whole shebang. I’ve always had a soft spot for her ever since.
She’s such a treasure. I am glad that since she found her person, she was happy to marry him. But I also think she would have been 100% fine if she never found her person.
The bows are bigger than she is – too twee for me.
She hails from my state (which will go unnamed because the politics here are atrocious; won’t be hard to figure out because most people know where she’s from.). But I feel the need to apologize to America all the same. Our state is an embarrassment.
She’s always seemed like such a delightful person. She’s a big supporter of the LGBTQ+ community as well which makes me love her more.
Her birth mother recently passed away (she was adopted as a baby) and she posted a lovely tribute to her.
Congratulations to her and her new husband! 🥂
Congrats to them! I’ve been a fan of hers a long time, it’s great to see her so happy. And the stuff with the dog is adorable!
There is nothing simple and elegant about bows bigger than she is. It’s endearing and lovely and appropriate for her but certainly not simple and elegant. It looks like she got the wedding she wanted and that’s what I always hope for for a bride.
I love her and this just makes me so happy. Dunkin Donuts? Slurpees? Doritos? Chapstick? This is a bride who didn’t need to impress anyone, and she made the day her own in a delightful way. Now I want a Slurpee.
She has always seemed so joyfully and unapologetically EXTRA, it makes me smile to see these wedding pictures. Who doesn’t like an unexpected and happy ending? I hope they have a great life together.
Gah! So happy for her. I love that she found her perfect guy later in life. They seems so genuinely into each other–hope these two kids make it!
She’s a treasure.