Inside Alana Hadid’s Backyard L.A. Wedding—Where Sisters Bella and Gigi Were Barefoot Bridesmaids
Alana Hadid met her now husband Ross Williams—as many modern-day couples do—via a dating app, although she may very well have missed him, as she’d just about given up at the time. “I felt like I was never going to meet anyone on the app, and then—no joke—I did one last swipe, and there he was,” the activist and creative director for Watermelon Pictures tells Vogue. After messaging for a couple of weeks, the pair opted for a rather unconventional 8a.m. coffee date at a café in the woods in Topanga, California. “Everyone thought it was kind of hilarious: ‘Why are you going on a date at eight in the morning?’” Alana laughs. “But it was so beautiful, we were there basically in this café by ourselves, and we talked for like two hours. It was kind of over after that. [I knew] right away: that’s my husband.”
It took another three years to make it official, with Ross—an Emmy-winning television producer who now works in the mental health sector—planning a sweet proposal in 2024, coinciding with Alana’s 41st birthday. “We road-tripped to this little hotel near Big Sur and on the way I opened notes that said things he loved about me,” Alana remembers. “He had planned to [propose] at dinner but we went out on a walk with our dog on this beautiful black sand beach. We were all alone and he asked me to marry him there. It was pretty perfect and very us.” The proposal ended up being so spontaneous that Alana was actually wearing sweatpants at the time (“we’re not flashy!”), although Ross’s choice of engagement ring—a trillion-cut amethyst ring that belonged to his mother Janet—was extremely intentional. “He was very thoughtful, and spoke to his mother and my mother and a lot of people to try to figure out what was the right ring,” Alana explains. “He knew I love vintage, and that I would love something that’s part of his family history, [rather] than something from a random jewelry store.”
Unsurprisingly, the couple were equally intentional when it came to wedding planning, deciding upon Alana’s father’s home in L.A. as their venue, and choosing October 18—Ross’s parents’ wedding anniversary—as the date. “We wanted to do it somewhere that meant something to us, so my dad’s house was a natural thought,” Alana explains. “Then we were trying to figure out what time of year we wanted to get married, and I just think that fall in L.A. is a beautiful time.”
To kick off the festivities, the bride and groom had a rehearsal at her dad’s house, followed by an intimate dinner at Petit Ermitage with their wedding party, before welcoming other guests with cocktails and a vast array of desserts, from macaroons, to fruit tarts, and a variety of cakes. “I think my mom went a little crazy and ordered every dessert they had,” Alana laughs. For the rehearsal, the bride opted for a beaded Clio Peppiatt dress, before changing into a two-piece set by Sandra Mansour, complete with a long train. “I definitely did a lot of looks,” the bride says. “I’m 42 and waited a long time to get married!”
For her wedding dress, Alana knew she wanted something vintage—although she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to find something that would work for her height. Luckily, Tab Vintage came up trumps, with the bride settling upon an archival Vivienne Westwood dress. “[When] I tried it on, I immediately knew it was mine,” she remembers. “I think it was like a size 16 or something, which was actually so perfect, because it had no draping, no ruching—just amazing sleeves. Because it was larger, my tailor could do all the alterations and make it mine.”
When it came to her accessories, Alana opted for another family heirloom—her mother Mary’s amethyst earrings—along with a series of necklaces by Dorsey, and a custom diamond and gold wedding band by Sofia Kaman. As an added sentimental touch, the bride attached her grandmother’s ring onto her bouquet of California wildflowers, which were also stitched into her veil, in keeping with the outdoors ceremony. Meanwhile, Alana’s bridesmaids—sisters Bella, Gigi (who both went barefoot), and Marielle—all wore green dresses of their own choosing, along with Dorsey jewelry that she gifted them.
Music was an important part of the ceremony, with bridesmaids Marielle, Gigi, Bella, and Alana’s brother and “male-of-honor” Anwar walking down the aisle to a Palestinian song,“Ya Tal3een” by Dana Salah, and Alana entering to “Thank You” by Led Zeppelin. “It was really about us expressing to each other and what it meant to become a family,” Alana says of the ceremony, which was officiated by one of the couple’s best friends. “It was very personal; we wrote our own vows and said something for Ross’s daughter, now my step-daughter.”
Naturally, Alana—whose dad Mohamed is Palestinian—wanted to celebrate her heritage on her wedding day, including at the drinks reception, where there was a special espresso and matcha bar by Mokafe and specialty cola drinks by Drink Palestina, both of which are Palestinian-American owned. Meanwhile, members of the bridal party received custom gift bags that included Mokafe tumblers, Drink Palestina Cola, and olive green keffiyehs by Kuvrd. “Especially with what’s going on in the world right now and what’s happening in Palestine, it was extremely important to make sure that everyone was keeping in their mind the fact that there are people in the world who are suffering,” the bride reflects.
Following the drinks reception, Alana and Ross had their first dance to “No Machine” by Adrianne Lenker, before a father-daughter dance to “Yesterday” by The Beatles, Alana’s dad Mohamed’s “favorite song.” Then came the dinner, served along tables decorated with moss and hydrangeas by Melissa Andre Design Co (in keeping with the woodland theme), which featured a Persian salad to start, followed by a choice of grilled branzino, hanger steak, and eggplant parmigiana as the mains, and the couple’s half-and-half chocolate and lemon meringue wedding cake for dessert.
To round off the night, Alana changed into her reception dress by Sandra Mansour as guests took to dance floor—with a DJ playing everything from “Abba to Arabic music,” a reflection of the couple’s eclectic taste. The evening finished at a respectable 11.30p.m., with an after-party at Petit Ermitage for anyone who wanted to carry on dancing, and a pool party the next day for family and friends.
Looking back on the day now, it was everything that Alana and Ross had hoped for, and more. “I’m so honored that so many people made the effort to come from all over the world, from Tunisia, Kuwait, from Paris, Hawaii—people who are important to us now, but also important to our marriage going forward,” the bride reflects. “I feel like we were surrounded by love the whole time.”
Photo: Mango Studios1/53My mother created the most beautiful bridal suite at my dad’s house.
Photo: Mango Studios2/53I walked down the aisle with wildflowers and my grandmother’s ring.
