Wedding bells have been rung for Christina Hendricks!
Taking place on Saturday, April 20, the actress, who is 48 years old, tied the knot with George Bianchini at the historic Napoleon House in New Orleans. Matthew Weiner, the creator of Mad Men, Christian Siriano, Mae Whitman, and Retta were among the guests that attended the event.
According to Hendricks, who spoke with PEOPLE, she and Bianchini, who is a camera operator who has worked on a variety of films and television programs, decided to hold their wedding in the Big Easy since they both have a unique relationship to the city.
Before I met George, New Orleans was a location that I had always wanted to visit, and it was also a place that he had always wanted to visit before he and I were together. “And then when we first started dating or meeting up, it was the place in the middle because we lived across the country from one another,” she recalls. “It was the place in the middle.”
“It just feels like our city together, even though we both loved it individually,” she continues to say.
They fell in love with the restaurant’s history and eclectic magnificence, which led them to choose Napoleon House as their site. Napoleon House is a landmark in the French Quarter that was previously the house of New Orleans mayor Nicholas Girod, who is famed for offering asylum to Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile.
“It’s got this rustic Cuban, Spanish, European textured, high-low feeling to it, which I guess is how we feel about ourselves a little bit — a little high-low,” according to Hendricks. “It’s got the most gorgeous walls with paint peeling off, and then you walk upstairs and there’s these grand dining rooms with the beautiful ceilings.”
The pair, who started dating in 2020 and were engaged in February 2023, invited 76 people to their wedding, which Hendricks asserts was the ideal quantity for her and Bianchini to have an intimate gathering. She continues, “It seemed like the right amount for us to be able to embrace and visit with everyone without feeling overwhelmed,” and then she immediately adds, “But it’s certainly not a diminutive, intimate wedding.” No, what we wanted was a party, and it was a very big celebration.
Bianchini was “going to be surprised at his own wedding,” as Hendricks joked about the fact that she was “going to be surprised at his own wedding.” Hendricks assumed leadership of the event organizing process. Taking advantage of the opulent atmosphere of old New Orleans, she used the setting to direct the specifics of the event.
Due to the fact that she was shooting the Sky TV series Small Town, Big Story in Ireland at the same time, the process of organizing the wedding was somewhat difficult for her since she was coordinating everything from a distance. “I really felt like I had to be able to bob and weave in a situation where you’re planning a party in a city that you don’t live in,” she says in retrospect. “I just kept saying to myself, ‘At the end of the day, if all of our friends and family together being happy and celebrating… If all else fails, I’ll order pizza, and we’re going to have a great time.'”
On the first day of the three-day wedding weekend, there was a welcoming cocktail party that took place inside a miniature home located on the Soniat House grounds. This was followed by a ghost tour conducted in the French Quarter. In addition, the estate served as the couple’s “home base” for the weekend, as well as a location where they could get ready for the different celebrations that were taking place.
When it came to the wedding event, which took place at Napoleon House, Hendricks claims that she went “full floral,” meaning that she filled the venue with an abundance of fresh flowers.
“Flowers have always been my favorite. “It is something that holds a great deal of significance for me, and I have never really indulged in simply holding an event and allowing it to be a celebration of flora and fauna,” she says in an interview with PEOPLE.
For the purpose of bringing her idea to reality, she collaborated with Sharime Kayla, a floral design business based in New Orleans. “I came to her with pictures that I had found on Pinterest and said, ‘I like this, I like this, and I like this.'” “Oh, you want Southern Gothic with Dutch masters,” she said. “I see why you’re interested.” “And I went, ‘Oh God, that’s exactly what I want,'” she recalled thinking before the event.
A color scheme consisting of plum, pink, and chocolate tones was selected by Hendricks. She characterizes this color palette as “gothic, moody, and sexy,” and it has a significant amount of Queen Anne’s lace. “George and I are both ex-goths, so that speaks to us,” she adds in response.
During the wedding ceremony of Hendricks and Bianchini, her close friend Shirley Manson, who is also the lead singer of the rock band Garbage, presided over the event. It was a really thrilling experience for us since I believe that [Manson] is one of the most brilliant poets and authors the world has ever seen. According to the actor who played Good Girls, “We just look at her and her marriage to her husband Billy Bush, and they are couple goals for us.” Her spouse is Billy Bush.
According to Hendricks, one of the most “nerve-wracking” things on their wedding to-do list was the fact that the pair had written their vows that they would give to one other by hand.
Due to the fact that the wedding was spread out across a number of different events, the fashion-obsessed actress took advantage of the chance to have some fun with her wardrobe. She told People that she had “incredible designers” who produced outfits for each of the numerous parties. The cocktail evening dress that she wore was created by Christian Siriano, and she described it as “spectacular” and a “red carpet moment that was not on a red carpet.”
During the main event, Hendricks wore a bespoke Katya Katya wedding gown, which she claims caused her to weep the very first time she put it on “because it was so beautiful.”
After the ceremony, the newlyweds participated in a second line, which is a traditional New Orleans ritual. They led their guests on a jazzy march around the street while holding umbrellas and parasols in their hands.
Following that, Hendricks and Bianchini provided their guests with a sit-down, multi-course supper that was appropriately themed around Southern New Orleans cuisine. Steak and shrimp and grits were among the items on the menu, while muffuletta was offered as a late-night snack option. Instead of having a wedding cake, they decided to serve Bananas Foster, which is Hendricks’ favorite dessert. The workers at the restaurant flambéed each individual guest’s dish directly at their particular table.
On Sunday, April 21, the events of the weekend culminated in a celebration brunch that celebrated the occasion.
Due to the fact that she was nominated for an Emmy Award, it was essential for her and Bianchini to be married in order to formally celebrate their love.
I think it’s easy to say when you’ve been married before and it was so difficult and it didn’t work out, and you feel like, ‘Oh my god, this is extremely terrifying.’ We are both romantic, and I think it’s easy to say that. All of this is not required of us. All we need to do is love one other and we won’t have to do this. In spite of this, she tells PEOPLE, “I believe there is something to be said about really making that commitment and saying it out loud with some of your friends and family.”
There is a sense of celebration associated with it, there is a sense of romance associated with it, and there is also something simple about it that makes you feel different. Something is saying, “You’re not going anywhere, and I’m not going anywhere.” There is something that says this.
According to her, being married is a time in life that is both unique and precious, and both she and Bianchini couldn’t be more excited about it. I was wondering how often you have the opportunity to gather all of your greatest folks together at the same time. That is something that you will never forget, and I wanted that to be the case for both of us.
