Monica Puig & Nathan Rakitt

Tennis player and Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig and longtime love Nathan Rakitt married on Nov. 11 at the Caribe Hilton Hotel in Puig’s native Puerto Rico.

For the oceanfront nuptials, Puig’s dress held special significance for the bride.

“For me it was super important to continue to embrace the island and I wanted someone from my island to make my dress,” she said of the Harry Robles designed dress. “The inspiration was based off the ocean waves transitioning to the sand. The elements of the dress which is the beading to represent the seafoam and the fringe going in ombré from white to beige represents the transition of the crashing wave into the sand.”

The couple also pulled from both of their backgrounds when choosing traditions to honor during the ceremony.

“My favorite part of the ceremony was smashing the glass after we were pronounced husband and wife,” Puig said. “I’m Catholic and Nathan is Jewish, and we wanted to incorporate some traditions from both.”