Culture

Orange is the New Black stars tie the knot in beautiful intimate ceremony

Mar 26 2017
Written by Meka Beresford

Orange is the New Black stars Lauren Morelli and Samira Wiley have tied the knot following their engagement last year.

The wedding was intimate with the couple’s closest family and friends there. Wiley’s parents, who are co-pastors of Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ in Washington D.C, officiated the ceremony.

The theme was confetti, and the couple walked down the aisle to “This is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan.

Morelli shared a beautiful shot of their wedding, which took place in Palm Springs, California, on Saturday.

The couple chose to wed in Palm Springs after Morelli popped the question there last year.

Wiley, who played Poussey Washington on OITNB, posted a picture of herself and Morelli on Instagram after the proposal with the simple caption “yes”.

The pair fell in love on the set of the Netflix hit, after Morelli realised she was gay just days after joining the show in 2014.

She later opened up about the “terrifying” symmetry between lead character Piper’s journey and her own.

Orange is the New Black stars tie the knot in beautiful intimate ceremony

“I realised I was gay in fall 2012, one of my first days on the set,” Morelli wrote in an essay for Mic.

“It wasn’t so much one thing, but the sum of many small details: how uncomfortable I felt around groups of lesbians or how I considered myself (shrug) a “not very sexual person”.

Morelli, who was married to a man when she met Wiley, added that she was no longer “stuck” between two truths because she had finally found herself.

“I am now out to my family, my friends and most of my co-workers on Orange (and now to you, dear reader),” she added.

Orange is the New Black stars tie the knot in beautiful intimate ceremony

“Now, when I am in the writers’ room or on set, I no longer feel like I am stuck in the middle of two truths.

“I belong because my own narrative fits in alongside the fictional stories that we are telling on the show: stories of people finding themselves, of difficult paths and of redemption.”

Wiley, who will next be seen in dystopian drama The Handmaid’s Tale, spoke about the moment she and Morelli got engaged in a heartwarming interview.

Orange is the New Black stars tie the knot in beautiful intimate ceremony
The couple were together for three years by the time Morelli proposed. The pair went on holiday to Palm Springs where Morelli surprised her, and Wiley couldn’t believe it.

“Lauren has been married before, so I wanted her to tell me she was ready, her to be the one to propose. I didn’t know she was as ready as she was. I was completely shocked,” explained Wiley.

“She was hyperventilating. I thought, Oh, this is not good. This has gone too far,” added Morelli. “She was very clear she’d wait for me to be ready, so to give her something I knew she wanted so much was incredible. It was the most magical day of my life.”

Orange is the New Black is just one high-profile television show to feature LGBT characters. A petition has been started to call for more family based entertainment to include LGBT characters and themes. Click here to sign it.