Draymond Green Weds Hazel Renee in a Golden San Diego Ceremony
It was a college theater class that originally brought Draymond Green into Hazel Renee’s orbit during his freshman year at Michigan State University. “I ran track and field, and he played basketball, so naturally we gravitated toward one another for group projects,” says Hazel, an actor and producer working on the launch of her next business venture, The Golden Mama, of their initial meeting. Years later and in the same summer as Draymond’s fourth NBA championship win with the Golden State Warriors, the pair tied the knot with a celebration at San Diego’s Fairmont Grand Del Mar.
Their path to the altar began with a family helicopter ride. “Our engagement was the most over-the-top, sweetest thing that someone has ever done to express their love for me,” says Hazel. Draymond had gotten in touch with her friend and Encore Events planner Brittney Mendoza for help. “I thought we were just doing a city tour with the kids and then dinner,” Hazel remembers. “However, the helicopter started to hover over water and lower down. Voilà! We then landed onto a boat.” To her surprise, a dozen of their closest friends and family were waiting on deck. “I had no idea what was going on,” Hazel admits. “He walked me over to a beautiful bed of flowers that covered a Jacuzzi in front of all of our loved ones, and he got on one knee and proposed—it was something out of a movie, for sure.”
The expression que será, será (whatever will be will be) comes to Hazel’s mind when discussing the nuptials, which were delayed by the pandemic and the birth of their daughter Cash. “I just knew that all would fall into place the way it should,” she says. When the time finally came, it was just a matter of when and where. “The planning process was actually very chilled—impulsively planned, if that’s a thing!” Hazel says. She ultimately collaborated with wedding producer Diann Valentine. “I honestly felt like we woke up one day and said, ‘This year would be great for our wedding’,” she says with a laugh. The couple then pushed their original date, the Fourth of July, back six weeks for a more serene August setting. “Everyone kept telling me, ‘You seem so relaxed and not like a bridezilla!’” Hazel jokes of keeping a low-stress attitude. When the night before the wedding arrived, Hazel spent it filling out seating charts for guests like LeBron James and Steph Curry into the early hours of the morning.
For her own adornments that day, Hazel had a clear vision. “I wanted to wear a designer that I felt would accentuate my curves,” she says of choosing a custom design by Ines Di Santo after attending the designer’s bridal show in New York. “We flew to Toronto to meet in her atelier, and she welcomed me with open arms and was so warm and willing to create the perfect look for me.” Gowns for both the ceremony and reception were dreamed up and delivered within a month. “I never imagined wearing a ball gown for my ceremony, but when I put on the sample, I looked at my mother-in-law and I knew immediately that it was the gown for me,” she remembers. “We both were teary-eyed.” A custom headpiece encrusted with emerald stones and crystals was Di Santo’s crowning touch, and makeup artists Teisha Letman and Christiana Cassell aligned with hairstylist Terrence Davidson to create the bride’s classic beauty look and updo.
Of course, Draymond knew exactly who to call for his emerald tuxedo. “My spouse has a long-standing relationship with fashion designer Rich Fresh out of Los Angeles,” says Hazel of the custom look created for the ceremony. Draymond then worked with New York–based designer Musika for his metallic black after-party suit—and secured a matching Rich Fresh look for his son D.J. “They were the only two wearing green as they owned that color for the day!” says Hazel of the father-son duo. Their daughters were given bespoke looks as well: “Olive and baby Cash wore Monnalisa of Italy, and their dresses were altered to have the exact custom lace from my ceremony gown sewn onto their dresses by our tailor Erik Gavrilov,” says Hazel.
Cindy Cohen of Moda Glam Boutique made four custom dresses for the bridal party, and Hazel purchased four more from Pronovias in Beverly Hills. “My girls are my girls, and I wanted to make sure they all looked and felt great,” she says. “I really loved the idea of them not wearing the exact same gown but rather two different gowns that complemented one another.” They wore shades of champagne and gold to play off the custom Rich Fresh suits donned by the groomsmen and father of the bride.
