Sophie SimmonsandJames Hendersoncelebrated their new titles ashusband and wifewith a party that had them rocking and rolling all night long.
A day afterexchanging vows during an intimate ceremony in Malibuon Wednesday, Simmons — who is the daughter of KISS rockerGene Simmonsand actressShannon Tweed-Simmons— and Henderson toasted to their nuptials with a group of 250 friends and family members at a 1920s, speakeasy-style reception at Delilah in West Hollywood.
“The ceremony is tiny because, originally, we wanted it to be just family,” Sophie tells PEOPLE. “But then we thought about all of the friends we love, and since there’s not a lot of room in my mom’s backyard where the ceremony is taking place, we decided to do a big party.”
“It’s going to be a huge rager,” Sophie teases. “We’re going to party until the sun comes up.”
MADISON AYCOTH
Sophie, 30, a singer and songwriter, decided to have the reception at Delilah since she and her older brother Nick Simmons, 34, used to sing jazz there.
At one point during the party, Simmons took the mic and sang an impromptu version of Etta James' “At Last.” She also did a father-daughter dance to Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
Though they asked guests to dress to the nines for the party, Sophie says they kept things more casual with their food and drinks.
“We have an In-N-Out truck for the perfect midnight snack, and vegan food for me,” she says. “We love a fancy party, but then we want burgers and fries. We like the mix of that.”
Sophie says the location for the ceremony, the backyard of her mother’s “she-shed,” was everything they wanted. “The view truly can’t be beat and I love that it is intimate and family oriented,” she says. “James and I never wanted a big wedding so this is the perfect space for us.”
Sophie Simmons and James Henderson.Madison Aycoth; Photographer - Instagram: @madisonaycoth - Web: madisonaycoth.com
Since there’s a wide range of religious beliefs between both of their families, Sophie and Henderson, who works in film, opted to have a judge marry them.
“We wanted to be respectful to both of our families,” she explains. “We thought we would just sidestep religion altogether and make it a non-issue. We wanted to do the ceremony somewhere so beautiful that it wouldn’t matter if it’s not at a church or temple or whatever.”
Sophie Simmons and James Henderson.Madison Aycoth
In between eating,DJ Wade Crescentkept guests dancing. Sophie also surprised her dad with a song she had written for him for their father-daughter dance, which she titled “Daddy’s Girl.”
“Since I was little, I’ve written my parents songs for gifts,” she says. “I wrote him a Father’s Day song years ago, and he hasn’t stopped playing it. So, I was like, ‘All right, it’s time for a new song.'”
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As the night came to a close, guests were able to take home donuts, hot chocolate and the disposable cameras they used throughout the night.
“We know it’s nontraditional, but we just wanted to walk down the aisle, have dinner under the stars with everyone we love, and then get back to it being just us in our honeymoon suite,” Sophie says. “We didn’t want to be too tired to actually enjoy being married that first day.”
Adds Gene and Shannon in a statement: “We couldn’t be prouder ofour daughter. James is a solid young man, and Sophie can do anything she puts her mind to. We wish them a lifetime oflove and happiness. If they are even half as happy as we are, they will last long.”
After years together, Sophie says she and Henderson knew they were ready to take this next step in their relationship during the early months of the COVID pandemic.
“I thought if he gets sick or if I get sick, we can’t go in the hospital unless we’re married,” she says. “We were like maybe it’s something we should consider: we’re getting older, and we want to start a family in a couple of years. If something happens, it’ll all be squared away.”
Aftergetting engagedin Zurich, Switzerland, in July, Sophie recalls her dad suggested they get married before “the end of the year.”
“We tried, but it was literally impossible,” she says. “So February was the first we could make it happen. In just six months, everything fell together.”
Like their wedding, Sophie and Henderson’s love story came together in the most unlikely of ways. After a workout at a Los Angeles gym in 2014, Sophie and her cousin — who served as her maid of honor during the ceremony — grabbed a coffee at the café next door, where Henderson was her waiter.
“I was like, ‘Damn! Of course the day I look like crap, the waiter’s really hot,'” she recalls with a laugh. “My cousin convinced me to write my number on our receipt, and so I did it and ran out. She then said, ‘Wait, how will he know if it was you or me?’ She’s blonde, and I’m brunette, so I ran back and wrote, ‘Brunette.’ Then ran out again.”
Later that day, Henderson called, while Sophie was at dinner with her cousin. She told him, “If you’re really serious about taking me out, you’ll come to dinner right now.” He showed.
“He came and hung out with us and ate vegan food,” she says. “I was like, ‘He’s a really cool guy.’ We’ve been together ever since.”
Sophie adds: “Not a lot of people meet when they’re 20 and stay together… It’s tough, and it’s a lot of work, but we’re ready.”
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As they head into this next chapter, Sophie suspects not much will change between her and Henderson.
Though the couple is waiting to do their big honeymoon in the summer, they’ll go on a “mini-moon” in Maui for three days, right after all the wedding festivities have commenced.
source: people.com
