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"I can't believe it's been a year. It feels like nothing's changed since the day I met him at the barbecue. It just feels so good to be with my best friend," Rita -- who proposed to the Marvel director -- told Vogue.
Rita Ora and Taika Waititi are opening up about their nuptials for the first time and sharing previously unseen photos from the ceremony with Vogue.
Speaking with the magazine on their one-year wedding anniversary, Rita, 32, and Taika, 47, revealed details about their intimate August 2022 wedding, while also recalling the untraditional proposal and wedding planning process.
The couple first met while at a party at Taika's house in 2018. However, the two didn't start dating until a few years later, in 2021, when they both happened to be shooting in Australia at the same time.
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And last summer, the British pop star and New Zealand filmmaker got engaged while on vacation in Palm Springs, with Taika revealing that it was Rita who proposed to him. "She proposed to me, and I said yes instantly," he told Vogue.
The pair shared that the engagement was very short, as they tied the knot at their Los Angeles home only a few weeks later. Reports and rumors about their nuptials were all over the place, which Rita and Taika found to be "quite entertaining."
"It wasn't in London or in France like everyone reported. It was in L.A. with a small group of friends," Taika said, to which Rita added, "At our home!"
"It's actually been quite entertaining for us to see the different stories people made up and all the while getting to keep it to ourselves," Rita said. "And, I love that we now get to share what really happened -- and to do it on our one-year anniversary, no less!"
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The two planned the wedding in two weeks, with Taika sharing that there were only eight people in attendance at the small affair, including his best friend, who flew in from New Zealand, and Rita's sister, Elena.
For the nuptials, Rita stunned in a Tom Ford gown and Lorraine Schwartz jewels. The "For You" singer called Ford "one of my favorite designers of all time" and said wearing the dress "was a dream come true."
"Because it wasn't planned, I didn't know if the right dress was even going to be in town, and I just took the risk and went to the Tom Ford shop," Rita told Vogue, "and they had it perfectly waiting with the veil, in my size, no alterations needed to be done. I mean, it was like it was meant to be, to be honest. And it just made me so happy."
Rita and Taika reflected on their wedding and their decision to keep it lowkey.
"I wore my mum's pearls that she got married in. My sister, Elena, put [the bracelet] on my wrist. It was beautiful," Rita said. "My sister walked me down the aisle, and it was just really simple and blissful and calm and private and fun."
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"Yeah, it was beautiful," Taika agreed, before adding, "Just having close friends and not having it too big. We didn’t have table settings or any of the stressful things that go along with weddings, and it was nice to just have it super-simple. My daughters were there, and they made everything really fun and easy: I think just because we didn’t have the pressure of having caterers and all of these things, you know, people turning up late, and all of the different moving parts."
"I felt really peaceful actually," Rita recalled. “It was almost like another day. We just all dressed up and got married."
Although the couple have been married for a whole year, they still feel like newlyweds.
"It's still working! I can't believe it’s been a year," Taika said, to which Rita added, "Same. I can't believe it's been a year. It feels like nothing's changed since the day I met him at the barbecue. It just feels so good to be with my best friend."
Check out their gorgeous wedding photos in the Instagram posts, above. And see the entire slideshow -- over 30 photos -- over at Vogue.
In addition, Rita also dropped the music video for her song, "You & I," with the entire video consisting of beautiful footage from her and Taika's nuptials. Check it out, below.
