'Top Chef' Star Michael Voltaggio Marries Bria Vinaite — Inside Their Intimate Hawaii Wedding

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Anna Kim Photography

Bria Vinaite + Michael Voltaggio. credit line – Anna Kim Photography

Top Chefchampion Michael Voltaggio and Bria Vinaite are married!

The celebrity chef, 44, andThe Florida Projectstarsaid “I do” on Friday, just under six months after their engagement on Vinaite’s 29th birthday in June.

“We have our handful of friends that stay engaged for years and we wanted to change that narrative,“Voltaggiotells PEOPLE in an interview the day before their wedding in Hawaii. “We want to be married to each other, that’s obviously why we’re engaged. So we expedited the whole thing.”

“We’re like, ‘Let’s have our dream wedding and do it on our own schedule,'” he continued. “Everyone wants the dream wedding, but it’s all the other stuff that comes with it that maybe gets you off track from what the meaning is behind the whole thing. And so for us, we really just focused on that. This is genuinely about just being in love with each other and wanting to be married to our best friends.”

Anna Kim Photography

Bria Vinaite + Michael Voltaggio. credit line – Anna Kim Photography

The pair traveled to the Four Seasons resort in Maui to celebrate their nuptials. The destination was an easy choice for the couple, considering that Maui is Voltaggio’s “favorite place on the planet.”

Their ceremony took place at sunset on the stunning Wailea Point, with a beautiful turquoise ocean and lush greenery serving as the backdrop. During the ceremony, a ukulele player performed a Hawaiian wedding song while Vinaite walked down the aisle.

The intimate celebration was shared between just the bride and groom and one friend — while other loved ones watched the ceremony through a livestream.

Bria Vinaite + Michael Voltaggio. credit line – Anna Kim Photography

While the pair did not want a “traditional” wedding, vows are one element they want to keep classic. “I feel like there’s so much meaning behind those vows. And so I want to make sure that those points are said because I genuinely believe I am making that promise to my person,” explains the chef.

One of the unique elements of the celebration was Vinaite’s custom Moschino gown.

Bria Vinaite + Michael Voltaggio. credit line – Anna Kim Photography

Want to get the biggest stories fromPEOPLEevery weekday?Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.

“I reached out to one of my really good friends who isJeremy Scott. His stuff is super incredible and he typically doesn’t do bridal so I was very excited to go on this journey with him and create something really special,” says Vinaite. “So he made me a denim corset with a denim mini skirt with a 10-foot long train and thigh-high gold embroidered boots. It’s literally bananas.”

She loves the “untraditional” wedding dress and is amazed that Scott created this look for her. “Mind you, he turned this around while he was doing fittings for Fashion Week in Milan,” says Vinaite. “So the fact that his team was able to execute this in such a short amount of time is just beyond.”

Bria Vinaite + Michael Voltaggio. credit line – Anna Kim Photography

Voltaggio, who is preparing to open his new restaurantVulcaniain Mammoth Lakes, Calif., found it difficult to find something to compliment the actress’s denim dress but found a unique “tuxedo-suit hybrid” fromJust One Eyein Los Angeles.

Their wedding was all about love, according to both newlyweds, and Vinaite was most excited to make a promise to Voltaggio. “I never thought I would want to get married until I met Michael. He is literally all of my favorite things in one person and I am just so excited that my best friend is going to be in my life forever.”

“I’m really excited for the ceremony,” she continues. “I’m excited to kiss him all night and to just laugh and be happy and to celebrate our love.” Voltaggio agrees: “It’s a dream come true.”

source: people.com