Heavy/ABC Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist.
On January 4, 2024, “The Golden Bachelor” star Gerry Turner exchanged vows with Theresa Nist. The couple’s quickie wedding came a little more than a month after their engagement played out on ABC.
“We’re old!” Turner, 72, explained of the couple’s short engagement on “The Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast. “We didn’t want to put off what we really felt was right. “
With a quick timeline for their live wedding, Nist didn’t have much time to pick out a wedding gown. Turns out she did a great job under pressure—and with a little help from her friends.
For her big day, the 70-year-old bride wore a white off-shoulder mermaid-style Badgley Mischka gown. The dress featured a long train. Nist also wore a traditional bridal veil. According to People, one of the lacy straps to Nist’s gown broke mid-ceremony, but the bride played it off without a hitch.
Disney/ABCTHE GOLDEN WEDDING – THERESA NIST, SUSAN NOLES, GERRY TURNER
Nist’s dress was seen on-camera before she exchanged vows with Turner at La Quinta Resort & Club in Palm Springs, California. Designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka appeared in a segment that showcased Nist’s wedding dress shopping. Badgley Mischka also designed original “Bachelorette” star Trista Rehn’s wedding dress when she married Ryan Sutter 20 years ago, according to Stylecaster.
Theresa Nist Previously Teased Her Wedding Dress Details
ABCTHE GOLDEN WEDDING –
THERESA NIST, SUSAN NOLES
Ahead of her wedding day, Nist shared a few teasers about her dress. She told Parade that her fiancé’s daughters, Jenny and Angie, as well as her own daughter Jenny, and “two women from the [Golden Bachelor] show who will remain unnamed” were with her when she picked out her dress.
“I asked them each to pick out their favorite gown,” she said. “The gowns were spectacular, so beautiful. And then I picked out three of my own and came down the stairs to show everyone and when I finally came down with that dress, everybody, in unison, just said, ‘Ah, that’s the one.’ I love it. I hope Gerry loves it.”
Nist described her long wedding dress as “a modern [style].”
DisneyTHE GOLDEN WEDDING – THERESA NIST
Speaking with Us Weekly, she shared that there was even a group text thread about her dress. She told the outlet that when the group went dress shopping she asked them to each pick out their “favorite dress” for her to try on. “And when I came down with [one] dress, everybody in unison went, ‘Oh, that’s the dress,’” she revealed. “And they also said, ‘Oh, your face was glowing. You look so beautiful.’ Now I’m trying to decide, am I wearing a veil with it? Am I wearing any headpiece?”
DisneyTHE GOLDEN WEDDING – THERESA NIST, GERRY TURNER
On January 4, 2024, Nist shared more details hours before her nuptials, this time dropping the Badgley Mischka label as well as the names of the two “Golden Bachelor” co-stars who helped her decide on her gown. Nist told People magazine that in addition to her daughter and two future daughters-in-law, her pals Susan Noles and Kathy Swarts weighed in on the decision.
“I was presented with these incredibly gorgeous gowns from Badgley Mischka, and I was overwhelmed,” Nist said. “I asked each one of these beautiful women to go pick their favorite. And then I picked three of mine, and I walked down the stairs with them. And when it was the dress, they unanimously thought this was the good gown. I think Susan was so proud because that’s the one I picked out!”
In addition to her stunning ceremony dress, Nist told Us Weekly that she picked out a second dress to wear at the reception because her first one “could be hard to dance in.”
Theresa Nist Shared a Photo of Her 1st Wedding Dress From the Early 1970s
Nist’s wedding to Turner comes nearly 10 years after the death of her first husband, Billy. The “Golden Bachelor” bride was married to her high school sweetheart for more than 40 years.
On November 11, 2023, she shared a series of photos to Instagram in honor of her late husband. One of the photos was from their wedding day in the early 1970s. “Billy and I met when I was 14 and he was 16. We got married at 18 and 20,” Theresa captioned the post.
In the photo, Nist’s first wedding gown boasted a high neck and puffy sleeves. The vintage bridal look included an appliqued veil. Quite a different vibe from the gown she would wear for her “Golden Bachelor” wedding 50 years later.
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