He has tied the knot, Wolfgang Van Halen!
On Sunday, October 15, the son of Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli married his fiancee Andraia Allsop in their house in Los Angeles in front of 90 guests. The couple shared all of the unique details of their ceremony with PEOPLE.
The pair, who have been together for eight years, told PEOPLE that they were eager to have a night of their loved ones coming together to celebrate their wedding. The couple’s wedding date, October 15, matched their first-date anniversary, which occurred on October 15, 2015.
“Our goal was just to bring all of our closest family and friends together,” according to Andraia. “The past few years, not only with the world, but also with personal tragedies, haven’t been the easiest, but we intended to create this wedding as a celebration not just for us to get married, but celebration for the people we love.”
According to Andraia, the ceremony took place in the living room of the couple’s home because it provided a setting in which they could “have privacy and just have our moment together with everyone.” The event was held thereafter in the backyard, adorned with flower arrangements and string lights.
The ceremony was presided over by Wolfgang’s close friend and family member, who he has known for “almost three decades at this point,” according to the 32-year-old groom. “He’s the dad of one of my best men and he’s just an important guy in our life,” according to Wolfgang.
As well as dusty rose and mauve-colored flowers, the event was adorned with a display of gorgeous stained-glass windows, which was the background that Lady Gaga utilized in one of her performances.
The frontman for Mammoth WVH, who donned a bespoke three-piece black suit for the wedding, went down the aisle with his mother to a song that his late father Eddie, who passed away at the age of 65 from throat cancer, penned for him. “316 is the name of the instrumental composition that my father composed for me and it was a gift from him. “It’ll be a nice way to include my dad,” he adds. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
Bertinelli believes that being able to witness her son’s wedding is a wonderful gift. “It brings me such a nice sense of peace knowing Wolfie and Andraia have each other for the rest of their lives,” she tells the publication. They ‘get’ one another in a deep and meaningful way. They have a sense of humor that is extremely similar to one another, they enjoy things that are similar to one another, they are able to give one another space, and they are just so comfortable together.
Andraia was accompanied by her father as they made their way down the aisle as Dean Martin sang “Everybody Loves Somebody.” “Dean Martin is one of my favorite performers, and when I heard that song, all I could think was, ‘Oh, that’s the perfect song.'” She explains her preference to PEOPLE by saying, “I need a Dean Martin song.”
She also came up with the novel idea of having her grandparents serve as the flower girls during the wedding. “Back in March, my grandfather passed away, but when he and my grandma got married early 1990s, I was about 3, and so I was their flower girl,” according to her. “So I thought it would be fitting and just a nice little moment to have my mom’s mom and my dad’s mom be our flower girls.”
Andraia sported a dress by Eva Lendel that was fashioned with transparent long sleeves that were detailed with lace and a V-neckline. “My goal was just to be able to be comfortable throughout the whole day and the whole night,” according to her. “It’s a long dress, not a big train, but hits the floor with lace and some beading detail.”
The pair penned their own vows and also made sure to pay tribute to their friends and family members who were not able to be there for their big day by honoring them in their vows.
“One of the things that I really wanted was a way to bring Wolf’s dad into it,” according to Andraia. “We’ll be having an empty chair that would’ve been his at the ceremony.”
“We cleared out all the bookshelves and we’ve just lined the shelves with photos of our family, our loved ones, people who’ve passed, people who couldn’t make it,” she continues, as Wolfgang elaborates, “We’ve lost important family members on both sides, so it’s important to commemorate them and have them be a part of the ceremony that we wish they were here for.”
Andraia also reveals that she personally crafted “little memory charms with a picture of Wolfie and his dad on it” as a surprise for everyone to have with their boutonnieres, corsages, or bouquets so that they are able to “think of him throughout the day.” This was done so that everyone would be able to “think of him throughout the day.”
In addition, Bertinelli allowed her to borrow a necklace that Eddie had presented to her as a gift.
“Ed would’ve been absolutely beaming and so, so proud of the man Wolfie has become and is becoming and so happy that he has found Andraia, someone who really understands Wolfie, who he is and who he wants to be and supports him wholeheartedly,” according to Bertinelli.
After the ceremony and the cocktail hour that took place indoors, the guests proceeded outside to enjoy the reception, supper, and dancing that followed.
On the couple’s menu were “hints of Italian” dishes like Tortellini en Brodo, which Wolfgang’s mom “grew up having all the time” since her grandmother made it, braised short rib, pesto chicken, and cauliflower steaks as the vegan alternative. Other dishes on the menu were braised short rib and pesto chicken.
The couple states that having a wedding cake made by SusieCakes was an absolute need for them, therefore they served tiramisu in addition to the cake.
“We knew we wanted a cake from SusieCakes since that’s the best bakery in the state of California, and I think that was first when we were like, ‘We’re going to need to do that because it’s the best.'”
The artist adds, “They have this cake called the celebration cake, which is just stupid how good it is,” while Allsop explains that it has “buttercream vanilla frosting with a vanilla cake inside.”
Since the couple wanted to “keep it simple,” according to Wolfgang, they decided to hire a DJ to perform throughout the reception.
“I believe that the initial impression that people get is something along the lines of, ‘Oh, are you going to play anything?’ And I’m thinking, no, doing that is the very last thing I want to do. In eleven days, I’ll be heading out on tour. He freely acknowledges, “I don’t want to.” “Last thing I want to think about is playing anything.”
Wolfgang made a joke on the fact that their wedding playlist could include some songs that are surprising.
“I’m sure our DJ is going to look at some of these songs and be like, ‘What?'” he adds, while Andraia observes, “When I talked to our DJ, he was very excited about our vision.” The one thing that I want is for Wolfie to have his time in the spotlight with Meshuggah, which is one of his favorite bands.
Wolfgang notes that they play a highly advanced kind of metal, but that to an uninformed audience, it can simply seem like death metal to them. Everyone over the age of 40 should be quite afraid. However, do you know what? Because it’s my wedding, I can do anything I want with it.
Even though the couple was ecstatic about their upcoming wedding, both of them said that they had the impression that they were already married.
Wolfgang remarks, “It’s kind of just a formality,” referring to the situation. “We are so already married that it’s like, well yeah, might as well make it official because we already are,” she said. “We are already married.” It is going to be a great deal of joy for us to hold a party for everyone in our life who is dear to us and who will be able to attend the event. And it will be a fun experience. The most number of guests that we’ve ever welcomed to our home.
Instagram served as the venue for the first meeting between the two parties, which was followed by the exchange of phone numbers and the start of consistent communication. “I have a snapshot of the very first text I ever sent her saved on my phone, and all it said was, ‘Hey, it’s Wolf. This is my contact information.’ “I can pinpoint exactly where I was at that moment,” he says.
“In 2015, I was out on tour.” When I woke up in Denver, I found a note from her waiting for me. I can pinpoint the precise hotel room that I was in in my head. It happened on the most recent Van Halen tour. It was the day off before we performed at Red Rocks that I received my first text message from her, and my first reaction was “Oh my gosh.” The band was going to perform at Red Rocks.
Wolfgang had prepared a “whole little trip for the day” for the couple’s first outing together, beginning with sushi at his go-to restaurant Aroha on Ventura, and then continuing on to Malibu to watch the sunset together.
“During that night, there seemed to be an absurdly high number of shooting stars. He said, “Never in my life have I witnessed so many shooting stars in the sky at the same time.” “It seems as if this was always destined to happen. It’s a cliche, but there’s no question that it was love at first sight.” Andraia also says: “It’s was such a special night.” In the month of July in 2022, Wolfgang posed the query.
The newlyweds do not anticipate a major transformation in the nature of their relationship as a result of their new status as a couple. “My surname is going to be the one and only thing that is going to be different. “I think that about covers it,” Andraia says.
Due to Wolfgang’s hectic traveling schedule, the two of them make the most of the peaceful times they are able to share together.
“I think with our life and the way things are, the best thing, and our favorite thing to do, is to just be next to each other,” according to him. “Home is where we are together.” Andraia was completely in accordance with her assessment: “And home might be anyplace. It may be a bus, a hotel room, or even our real residence. All of these are possibilities. When it’s just the two of us, any place may seem like home.
When asked to reflect on their wedding, Wolfgang told PEOPLE that he felt “comfortable” during the whole ceremony and reception.
“Just being able to share our love for each other with the people that we love and it just makes you feel comfy,” according to him. “It’s like drinking water for the soul.”
