On Saturday, the decorated Olympic gymnast and newly minted Green Bay Packers football star said their “I do’s” for a second time during their destination wedding in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Simone Biles Owens and Jonathan Owens initially wed at a courthouse last month. She wore $35 Amazon shoes and a $120 dress for the intimate occasion.
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However, her second celebration in Cabo saw Simone walk down the aisle in one of four Galia Lahav gowns chosen for various occasions throughout the weekend. The NFL safety wore an Adam Ross Leibold-designed tan-colored suit and matching bow tie.
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The opulent affair also had Simone and Jonathan walking into their new life as a married couple with some flashy footwear.
practice to the real thing 🤍 pic.twitter.com/l24gjlMIIz
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) May 9, 2023
As eagle-eyed followers spotted, the power couple kicked off their pre-wedding ensemble with comfy-yet-elegant shoewear: glamorous bride-and-groom custom-made Nike Air Force One Lows decked out with tons of bling.
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Crafted by Leila Bensargin, the owner of the online shoe customization shop Lei Lab Crystals, she spoke with People magazine about the nearly yearlong process to garnish the sneakers to perfection, with everything from 18-carat-gold-plated lace charms to custom shoe boxes made for the kicks.
According to Bensarghin, the 26-year-old enlisted the Baltimore-based designer to bling out her and her husband-to-be’s trainers.
After initially connecting in April 2022 (only a couple of months after announcing her engagement), Simone and Bensarghin worked together on the “crisp and classy” shoe designs until they were finalized last month.
Simone painted a clear vision of shoes meant to match her wedding’s gold-and-champagne color palette, with crystal lettering to highlight their wedding date.
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“As we’ve seen with other features of her wedding, Simone cares about details. So I personalized every part of the shoe — including some hidden customizations inside only visible to Simone and Jonathan. They also received custom display shoe boxes,” Bensarghin said.
The design featured gold crystals along the seam lines and pearls filling in the swoosh motif, toe caps and heel tabs.
“Simone requested incorporating pearls into our initial gold Swarovski crystal design. So, I mocked up a gold and pearl Nike swoosh, and we fell in LOVE with how the two complemented one another,” the Baltimore-based designer revealed.
In addition, before Bensarghin created an identical pair for her 27-year-old hubby, it was customized with their surname, Owens, outlined in crystals on one heel, with the wedding date, “5.6.2023,” on the other.
The two details were also incorporated into the custom-made 18K gold-plated luxe lace locks for Simone, while Bensarghin opted for leather on Jonathan’s.
Simone was reportedly over the moon with how the shoes turned out.
“‘Obsessed is an understatement!’ which is the best compliment ever,” designer Bensarghin told People magazine of her reaction.
Although this was her first time working with the medal-winning athlete, Bensarghin said Simone had full faith in what would end up being a 60-hour-long creative process “from design to the finished product” for both pairs of shoes.
The Lei Lab Crystals owner added: “It was an honor designing for Simone and Jonathan.”
One thing’s for sure, the gold medalist and her fine footballer’s fancy wedding wardrobe serve to silence critics who shamed the Olympian’s affordable fashion during her first ceremony.
We can only assume that Simone brushed haters aside so casually because she knew she was bringing the heat at her extravagant wedding affair in Cabo.
