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Her new hubby may slay when it comes to the butterfly stroke, but Nicole Johnson is the one who kills it when it comes to wedding day style. Less than a week after surprising us with the news that they had secretly tied the knot back in June, Michael Phelps and Nicole Johnson wed for the second time in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico over the weekend. And in the just-released photos of the epic event, we can’t take our eyes off of the jaw-dropping Johnson in her truly stunning wedding dress. We’ve oohed and aahed over the gorgeous gown all weekend long, but now we have all the deets on Johnson’s dazzling dress from the designer herself.
For the sunny seaside (second!) ceremony, Johnson donned a Julie Vino custom wedding dress to wed Phelps. Featuring a deep V-neck bodice with lace detailing and a sleek chiffon skirt with a sultry high silt, the form-fitting gown was perfect for the beachy “I do” locale — and this unconventional bride.
“She did not want the traditional bridal gown,” Julie Vino, the designer behind frock, told People magazine. “She wanted something that was a little more easygoing and flowing, and a slit up the side. She always wanted something with a slit. It was something that she had in her head from the beginning.” Gotta love a bride who knows what she wants!
“Nicole was fond of me for a few years, apparently, and contacted me and asked me to make a dress,” Vino said, explaining that she and Johnson shared several emails and Skype calls in order to design the bride the dress of her dreams. “I got the basic idea of what she was looking for and sketched a couple of dresses for her. She decided what kind of style she liked and that’s how we landed on the final dress.”
But get this — Johnson only managed to have one fitting before the big day! (We’re sweating just thinking about it…) Thankfully, it was a near perfect fit, according to Vino.
“Nicole came with a couple of her friends and Facetimed with her mother. She didn’t want to take the dress off. She was crying and everyone was happy.” But by the time the big day came rolling around, the dress needed some tweaking. “She had lost a some weight, I suppose like every bride does,” Vino explained. (It’s a stressful time, okay?!) “So we did a few more alterations on her. Then we sent the dress back to Israel to do the final alterations, and sent it back to her about a week and a half ago before the wedding.” Phew!
See More: Michael Phelps Finally Opened Up About His Secret Wedding to Nicole Johnson
So does the final product have Vino’s stamp of approval? “It fit her perfectly. She looks amazing.” That’s for sure!
“I had a great connection with Nicole,” said Vino. “She’s fun to work with, and we’re definitely going to be working with her in the future for other things. We already started working on something. It’s coming soon.”
Is Vino teasing that she and Johnson might collaborate on a collection? Could it be true? Is this real life? We’re officially freaking out!