Anya Taylor-Joy Wedding: The Full Story of Two Ceremonies and One Beautiful Love Story
Not every celebrity wedding comes with a plot twist. But then again, not every celebrity is Anya Taylor-Joy.
The Anya Taylor-Joy wedding story is genuinely unlike anything Hollywood has served up in years. There were two ceremonies. One was a complete secret for nearly two years. The other was a Venice fairy tale that guests arrived at by water taxi. And the whole love story started with a song written two days after their first meeting.
Let us walk through all of it from New Orleans to Venice, from a vampire-themed ceremony to a custom Dior gown using only verified facts and real sources.
How Anya Taylor-Joy and Malcolm McRae Met
Before the Anya Taylor-Joy wedding, there was a meeting and a song.
Anya Taylor-Joy and Malcolm McRae first crossed paths in 2020 at a premiere event for her critically acclaimed Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit (The Knot). Two days later, McRae wrote a song about her. He titled it “Really Want to See You Again.”
That is either incredibly romantic or the most efficient use of creative energy in music history. Possibly both.
The duo were first spotted together in public in May 2021, sharing a kiss in New York City. McRae posted a photo of the two together on Instagram in October of that year with the caption: “Oof supremely happy” (People).
They made their red carpet debut together at the CAA pre-Oscar party in West Hollywood in March 2022. And then, quietly, just days later — they got married.
The First Anya Taylor-Joy Wedding: New Orleans, April Fool’s Day, 2022
Here is where the story gets genuinely surprising.
Anya Taylor-Joy privately wed musician Malcolm McRae in New Orleans in 2022 long before the pair threw a glamorous, star-studded wedding in Venice, Italy, in fall 2023.
The date? April 1st, 2022. April Fool’s Day.
At the end of the day, it was about the two of us and so we ran away with our two best friends and had the most magical day possible. It kind of made it all the more special, ’cause it just felt like a secret that we got to keep to ourselves. Anya Taylor-Joy, via Entertainment Tonight.
Taylor-Joy told Variety the elopement “was for us” and “was romantic,” adding: “When you know, you know.”
Just to put the timeline in perspective: four days after their wedding, McRae and Taylor-Joy were at the premiere of The Northman in London smiling for cameras, keeping their secret perfectly intact.
She kept it secret for two full years. In 2024, the whole world found out and in the most perfectly Anya way imaginable.
The April Fool’s Reveal That Nobody Saw Coming
Taylor-Joy confirmed she got married on April Fool’s Day two years later taking to Instagram on April 2, 2024 to share never-before-seen photos from her secret wedding. “Two years ago, on April Fools, I secretly married my best friend in New Orleans,” she wrote.
“The magic of that day is ingrained in every cell of my being, forever. Happy second (first) anniversary my love… you’re the coolest.”
The internet, naturally, had a full meltdown. Was it real? Was it an April Fool’s joke? Was an April Fool’s Day announcement about an April Fool’s Day wedding a double bluff?
It was all real. Every bit of it.
Taylor-Joy told ELLE: “I’m an incredibly sensitive, hyper-feeling person. I did not realize that I could have more feelings, but I can. I feel so unbelievably lucky to be completely and utterly in love. I have found my person. I cannot believe that we get to do life together.”
The New Orleans Ceremony: Vampire Themes and Anatomically Correct Cakes
Now, about that ceremony. It was not your standard white-and-roses wedding.
Taylor-Joy shared pictures and videos from the vampire-themed ceremony, which featured “anatomically correct” cakes shaped like human hearts. In the post, Taylor-Joy referred to herself as “the vampire Lestat” a reference to the character from Anne Rice’s novel Interview with the Vampire, which is also set in New Orleans.
The ceremony took place at a historic cathedral in New Orleans. Photos from the ceremony show off the intimate setting, which was decorated with romantic candlesticks and clusters of white flowers. The couple kept the guest list to a minimum, inviting only a few esteemed guests. Included was model Cara Delevingne, who could be seen sitting underneath the bride’s gauzy veil in one photo.
The choice of New Orleans was not random either. During a visit to TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, Taylor-Joy opened up about why she and McRae decided to say “I do” in the Big Easy. “It was really spur of the moment,” she said. “I’d always wanted to go, and then afterwards, we found all of these beautiful connections.”
A spontaneous elopement in a gothic New Orleans cathedral with anatomically correct heart cakes. This is the most Anya Taylor-Joy thing that has ever happened.
The Second Anya Taylor-Joy Wedding: Venice, October 2023
If the New Orleans ceremony was intimate and secret, the Venice celebration was the opposite in the best possible way.
The couple’s nuptials culminated in a lavish Italian ceremony on September 30th, 2023. They hosted family and friends at the picturesque Palazzo Pisani Moretta on Venice’s Grand Canal. Guests arrived Bond-style via water taxi to the locale, which was built in the 15th century as the longtime residence of the noble Pisani-Moretta family. Following the couple’s nuptials, the palace doubled as a reception space where guests donned masquerade-style masks.
Around 150 guests attended. The dress code called for 1920s glamour. And the guest list was legitimately star-studded.
Guests included Cara Delevingne, Julia Garner, Nicholas Hoult, Keleigh Sperry, Miles Teller, and more. Garner looked straight out of the decade in a plunging velvet dress complete with flapper-like fringe detailing. Delevingne kept things classic in a vintage-inspired pinstripe tuxedo and a plunging waistcoat while Sperry delighted in a blue feathered number.
Masquerade masks in a 15th-century Venetian palace. The guests arrived by water taxi. The dress code was 1920s glamour. At this point, Anya Taylor-Joy is not just attending a wedding she is directing a film.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s Wedding Dress: Custom Dior, Both Times
Here is a detail that deserves its own spotlight.
Anya wore the same exquisite custom Dior wedding dress for both the New Orleans and Venice ceremonies, featuring intricate embroidered designs.
The Queen’s Gambit actor put her own whimsigoth spin on bridal fashion in a dreamy beige princess dress, custom-made by Dior. The gown was embroidered with illustrations of birds and flowers in dark gray hues, and styled with a bright white veil. Her dark pixie makeup contrasted her bleach-blonde hair, which was styled in a half-up ‘do, with wavy strands framing her face.
The fashion world had a full moment over this gown. And rightly so.
A day after the Venice ceremony, paparazzi captured photos of Taylor-Joy preparing to board a water taxi with her husband. Instead of the embroidered beige gown she had worn for the ceremony, she stepped out in a more casual but just as ethereal bridal minidress.
Two weddings, one dress, two completely different energy levels. This is how you get maximum mileage from a Dior custom.
Who Is Malcolm McRae? The Man Who Wrote a Song in Two Days
No Anya Taylor-Joy wedding story is complete without talking about the groom.
Malcolm McRae is a 30-year-old Alabama native and a musician best known for serving as a guitarist in Portugal The Man. He is currently a member of the band More*, which toured with HAIM in 2022. Beyond his music career, McRae has also dabbled in acting in 2023, he had a small role in the Amazon Prime series Daisy Jones and the Six.
Taylor-Joy has been publicly effusive about him. She told British Vogue: “I’ve finally found someone who will happily sit in silence with me reading. We’re basically 80 years old and 7 at the same time, and it works really well.”
And McRae, for his part, has matched her energy. In a heartfelt post marking four years of marriage, McRae wrote: “Four years married. I’m trying to return to you more love than you’re able to give out.”
A musician who writes songs two days after meeting someone. A man who writes anniversary posts like that. Honestly, the bar is on the floor for the rest of us.
Quick Facts: Anya Taylor-Joy Wedding at a Glance
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| First wedding date | April 1, 2022 (April Fool’s Day) |
| First wedding location | Historic cathedral, New Orleans |
| First wedding guests | Two best friends + Cara Delevingne |
| Wedding theme | Vampire-themed, gothic candlelit decor |
| Second celebration date | September 30, 2023 |
| Second wedding location | Palazzo Pisani Moretta, Venice |
| Venice guests | ~150 including Julia Garner, Miles Teller, Nicholas Hoult |
| Wedding dress | Custom Dior, worn at both ceremonies |
| Publicly revealed | April 2, 2024 |
| Husband | Malcolm McRae, musician |
Why the Anya Taylor-Joy Wedding Story Resonated So Widely
This was not just a celebrity wedding. It was a story people genuinely connected with.
The elopement was private, spontaneous, and completely on their own terms. The Venice celebration was grand but intimate 150 people, masquerade masks, a 15th-century palace, a custom Dior gown worn twice. The reveal was perfectly timed and unexpectedly emotional.
Most importantly, both Anya and Malcolm have spoken about each other in ways that feel genuinely real not PR-managed, not performative. Just two people who found their person and were not in any hurry to share it with the world until they were ready.
That, more than the dress or the venue or the guest list, is what made the Anya Taylor-Joy wedding story one people actually cared about.
