There are Walking Dead fans, and then there’s Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams. The NFL pro took his fandom to a whole new level on Saturday, July 23, when he had a Walking Dead–themed wedding at the Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee.
“I’m a huge Walking Dead fan,” Williams, 33, explained in a video shot by ESPN. “I wanted to do engagement photos of us being chased by zombies and we didn’t have time because it was during season and we didn’t have the opportunity, so [my wife, Risalyn] was like, ‘How are you going to pull that off?’”
Williams had professional makeup artists on hand to transform him and his wedding party into zombies. As he explained to ESPN, he wanted his big day to be fun for everyone.
“It’s a time for us to laugh and … say, ‘Ha, you look goofy,’” he told ESPN. “It gives us a chance to step outside our comfort zone and put on our acting skills, whether we possess them or not.”
His bride, Risalyn, was surprisingly on board with the concept. “He didn’t have to convince me,” Risalyn told ESPN while clad in her wedding gown and fake blood. “He really had to convince the bridesmaids, and then he said they had to do it because they’re bridesmaids.”
The couple have been together since college, when they both attended the University of Memphis. According to local paper The Commercial Appeal, the lovebirds’ wedding was also decked out in the school’s colors, blue and gray.
“It is a dream come true,” Williams told ESPN of his wedding day. “What makes it even more magical is not only did I become a walker, I became a husband.”
Watch their wedding video above!
