Photos – Nita Strauss Had a Gothic Heavy Metal Wedding
Congrats are in order as guitar great Nita Strauss and her manager/drummer Josh Villalta are now married! The couple wed at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel in Los Angeles on Saturday, May 4 with a number of celebrity friends in attendance as well.
Nita Strauss' Onstage Engagement
The couple famously got engaged onstage last July, with Villalta choosing Strauss' record release party for her The Call of the Void album on July 6 to pop the question. Strauss and her band, with Villalta included, were initially celebrating the album's release at the legendary Whisky-a-Go-Go, before it turned into an engagement celebration as well. The Sunset Strip venue was a perfect place to pop the question as the couple were initially introduced in 2011 at the Rainbow Bar & Grill by mutual friends.
Nita + Josh's Wedding
According to People magazine, who had the exclusive photos from the nuptials as well, Strauss and Villalta wed in front of 120 guests, including Nita's longtime bandmate Alice Cooper and his wife, WWE legendary wrestler Mick Foley, Strauss' onetime bandmate Demi Lovato, "Dead Inside" song collaborator David Draiman and more.
Foley actually officiated the wedding, while Cooper and his wife Sheryl provided a special reading for the couple. The Moon Units were booked to be the band for the reception, offering some of their musical friends a chance to come up and do live band karaoke. The couple also danced their first dance to the '90s rock ballad "More Than Words" from Extreme.
READ MORE: David Draiman Sings Metallica Hit at Nita Strauss' Wedding
Strauss referred to the wedding as "our dark, romantic, heavy metal dream wedding," adding, "We wanted someplace that was easy to get to for as many of our friends and loved ones as possible. Los Angeles is my home, Josh’s second home, and where we met and fell in love, so it felt natural to tie the knot there."
According to People, Strauss wore a Maggie Sottero gown, the Frederique Royale style, featuring beaded lace, a fit-and-flare silhouette and a sweetheart neckline. She paired the gown with white Valentino rockstud flats, which she later swapped for customized white Air Force One sneakers for the reception.
Strauss and Villalta also had a wedding cake, a traditional Louisiana-style confection called a doberge, made of multiple thin layers of cake alternating with pudding. "It’s one of our very favorite desserts, and we were so excited to share it with our Cali guests," said the guitarist.
"Josh has said many times over the last nine years, 'We’ve been together so long, we’re already married.' And I’ve been the one saying, 'No, we have to do the thing!' " Strauss told the magazine. "So now we’ve truly done the thing, we’ve made it official, tied the knot, as long as we both shall live."
What the Wedding Looked Like
People posted photos of the couple's wedding day on social media, with both Nita and Josh sharing the shots with captions as well. Strauss commented "The Happiest Day" alongside her photos with a string of emojis.
Villalta shared in posting his photos, "What else can I say…. I got to marry my best friend. It was such a beautiful and special day. Words aren’t enough to express the love and emotions in the room."
He then added that after the ceremony they took a ride around Hollywood where they first met at the Rainbow and then down the street to the Whisky where he proposed. He then thanked Mick Foley for officiating the wedding and People for sharing the photos.
Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia, Drummer John Tempesta, Halestorm's Joe Hottinger, Dorothy, Korn's Ray Luzier, Testament's Alex Skolnick, Fozzy's Chris Jericho, Lilith Czar, Five Finger Death Punch's Ivan Moody, Kane Roberts, Roy Mayorga, Brian Slagel and more were among those offering their congrats to the happy couple in the comments of the Instagram posts.
Meanwhile, several of the guests, including David Draiman, posted additional photos and video from the wedding.