Alisan Porter has found her happily ever after!
The singer and actress married her longtime love Justin de Vera on Sunday in a romantic, intimate wedding at the Venus Garden Chapel at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas after six years of dating.
The ceremony — during which the couple exchanged handwritten vows — was a long time coming for Porter, 41, and de Vera, 33, who first met as children more than two decades ago.
“I think for both Justin and me, we have been best friends for so long that this just feels like the next step,” she tells PEOPLE. “We’ve known each other for over 20 years. We’ve had an amazing six years together, raised incredible kids and had our own baby. So this is what we’ve been waiting for.”
The Curly Sue star is mom to kids Mason, 10, and Aria, 8, from a previous relationship, and she and de Vera welcomed daughter Shilo, 17 months, in October 2021. Porter made sure to include the children in her big day, and entrusted them with holding the rings.
Porter wore a Sau Lee gown, which she chose because it’s “classic and simple with just enough edge,” and completed the look with Versace shoes given to her by close friend Adam Lambert, who was one of 75 guests in attendance.
“Our wedding is very personal and very us,” she says. “We didn’t go for any kind of traditional anything — just what felt right to us.”
The singer, who won season 10 of The Voice in 2016, walked down the aisle to “Warm Under the Light” by Justin Nozuka, and was greeted at the end by her new husband and their officiant Guy, a close friend of the couple’s who is also Shilo’s godfather.
“Guy was my grandmother’s godson and grew up dancing at her dance studio,” she says. “He is like a cousin to me. I introduced Justin to him at a dance competition when they were 12 or 13 and they have been best friends ever since.”
Tying the knot was a perfect happy ending for Porter and de Vera, a dancer who has toured with Britney Spears and Madonna. The two first met years ago at a dance studio, and their longtime friendship turned romantic six years ago.
In July, they were engaged at a David Gray concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, with de Vera popping the question during the song “This Year’s Love.” The 1998 track is one the couple considers their song, and what they played during their first dance.
“We have been best friends since and always loved each other,” says Porter. “I’m a bit older than J, but we both went and lived amazing lives until the universe brought us back together.”
