Yahoo Finance Former USC Athletes Victoria Garrick and Max Browne Marry in 'Fairytale' Wedding: 'Team for Life'
Rebecca Yale Photography
They're together 4-ever!
On Saturday evening, former University of Southern California athletes Victoria Garrick and Max Browne tied the knot at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club in Dana Point, California, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal.
The pair — who played for USC's volleyball and football teams, respectively, and both wore the #4 jersey — have been together for six years and engaged since August 2021.
"It feels so great," Garrick, 25, tells PEOPLE. "Coming from such athletic backgrounds... we can't help but think, you have one person who you get to 'draft' on your team for life and we're choosing each other. It's really nice to know that I'm in this with Max for the rest of time."
"I had the biggest crush on Vic at USC, and still have the biggest crush on her now," adds Browne, 27. "I'm so pumped to be marrying my best friend."
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Rebecca Yale Photography
Together since July 2016, Browne says he knew Garrick was the one "pretty early on."
"We started dating going into my senior year of college," says the football analyst/commentator and real estate agent. "Even the way that people were talking about us then, I think we knew, 'All right, yeah, this is for real.'"
Though Garrick admits she was not in the "mental place to want a boyfriend" when she first met Browne, it wasn't long before she realized the "infectious" football star was "husband material."
"When I did realize it, I was like, 'Oh s---, am I too late? Is he so over me? So I started sliding back into text messages and Snapchat until I coerced him into inviting me over," she jokes. "And then we hung out and then never stopped hanging out."
Since then, the pair has weathered many challenges, including dating long distance for close to three years while Browne attended the University of Pittsburgh as a graduate transfer. They now live together in Los Angeles as they pursue their respective careers.
"I've had some people say, 'You guys are getting married so young,' but we've been together for six years and it's just like, we know we want to be together," says Garrick, a TEDtalk speaker and the host of the Real Pod podcast. "Why wait, just so that the number seems older? It felt right for us."
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Rebecca Yale Photography
For their big day, Garrick says they wanted a wedding that felt "classic and elegant" but also "reminded you of a fairytale without being cheesy."
"I really loved this venue because it has this really European look to it [and] seemed like it could be in Italy," says Garrick, who used wedding planner Lisa Gorjestani. "And although we're went classic, we did want it to be fun. We really tried to strike this balance of formal, traditional and classic, but with a modern, fun, California twist."
Part of that special twist included Garrick having five bridesmaids to Browne's 12 groomsmen, and the pair opting against a "first look" to "preserve that special moment for when [Garrick] walks down the aisle." (They did, however, share a "first hug" the morning of their wedding before getting ready.)
The couple also incorporated Garrick's Greek Orthodox heritage and Browne's Christianity into the ceremony, with a reverend officiating the nuptials and the couple both wearing the Stefana, a wedding crown that is the most integral part of Greek nuptials.
The bride wore a couture gown by Galia Lahav. She completed the look with makeup by Chloe Schlossmann, as well as an up-do for the ceremony by Bradley Leake followed by glamorous, big waves for the reception. As for the groom, he wore a tuxedo from Zegna.
After saying "I do" and sealing the deal with rings from Happy Jewelers, the newlyweds celebrated with a group of 200 of their loved ones.
"Just to think that this day we've thought about for our whole lives, we're living it. It's wild and we are having a big fat Greek wedding," says Garrick. "At first that really overwhelmed me. But now I'm so excited that we get to have this day where literally everyone we know and care about will be in one room together. How often does that happen?"
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Now that they're married, Garrick and Browne are preparing to jet off to Italy for a two-week honeymoon. As they look ahead, the couple says they can't wait to take on more of life's adventures together.
"I think for me, it's so cliche, but [I'm most excited about] the idea of building a life together," says Browne. "Vic and I are both pretty driven, so it's exciting to think what could happen three, five, 10 years down the road ... and all the possibilities that we have together."
Adds Garrick: "I'm excited for us to be our own little family. This is cheesy, but why am I so hyped to send a Christmas card? Me and Max, because we can, and we'll be married. It's the little things like that to be family and start to create my own family with Max, I think is really special."
