“Alana, 41, who is the older half-sister of supermodel siblings Gigi Hadid, 30, and Bella Hadid, 29, married Emmy-winning producer and mental health worker Ross Williams.”, — write: www.dailymail.co.uk
Alana, 41, who is the older half-sister of supermodel siblings Gigi Hadid, 30, and Bella Hadid, 29, married Emmy-winning producer and mental health worker Ross Williams after three years together.
Now, Alana’s wedding planner Melissa Andre has shared behind-the-scenes footage of the bride practicing walking down the aisle alongside bridesmaids Giga and Bella.
The bride, who was wearing a white mini dress, couldn’t stop giggling as her friends and family cheered for her ahead of the big day.
Gigi wore a chic green ensemble, while Bella opted for jeans and a khaki top for the practice run.
For the ceremony, the bride wore a white archival Vivienne Westwood dress that she had altered ‘to make it mine.’
She paired it with her mother Mary’s amethyst earrings and a custom diamond and gold wedding band by Sofia Kaman.
While most of the wedding was held in the backyard of dad Mohamed’s Beverly Hills mansion, there was also an intimate dinner with the wedding party at West Hollywood hotel Petit Ermitage, which took place before the main guests arrived.
Alana’s sisters Gigi and Bella served as bridesmaids, with the supermodels both going barefoot and wearing green dresses of their choosing.
Her other sister Marielle was also a bridesmaid, while model brother Anwar served as the ‘male-of-honor.’
The siblings all walked down the aisle together to the Palestinian song ‘Ya Tal3een’ by Dana Salah, while Alana entered to ‘Thank You’ by Led Zeppelin.
‘It was very personal; we wrote our own vows and said something for Ross’s daughter, now my step-daughter,’ Alana shared.
Other Palestinian touches at the wedding included using Palestinian-American owned vendors for the beverages and gift bags for the bridal party that contained olive green keffiyehs.
‘Especially with what’s going on in the world right now and what’s happening in Palestine, it was extremely important to make sure that everyone was keeping in their mind the fact that there are people in the world who are suffering,’ Alana explained to British Vogue.
While Gigi and Bella have had incredible success on the runway, Alana has carved out her own place in the public eye through her political activism.
Alana – who is the second daughter of Palestinian-American real estate mogul Mohamed Hadid and his first wife Mary Butler – became one of the most outspoken pro-Palestinian activists in America since the October 7 terror attacks.
In addition to leading fundraisers and speaking at protests, Alana is the creative director of Watermelon Pictures – a Palestinian film distribution company ‘dedicated to amplifying the voices of underrepresented filmmakers.’
The company uses the slogan ‘from the river to the screen,’ which is a play on the political phrase, ‘from the river to the sea.’
Alana’s parents Mohamed and Mary divorced in 1992 and Mohamed went on to wed Dutch model Yolanda Hadid in 1994, with the couple welcoming daughters Gigi and Bella as well as son Anwar before divorcing in 2000.
Much like her younger sisters, Alana has dabbled in the fashion industry over the years.
She spent time working in styling and PR, before launching an eyewear line in 2016 followed by a women’s fashion brand in 2017.
However, her true calling has been as a pro-Palestinian activist.
Her father Mohamed – who is now a multi-millionaire real estate developer – was born in 1948 in the city of Nazareth, shortly before it was captured by Israeli forces.
As an infant, his family fled to Lebanon and then Syria due to the Israeli-Arab war of 1948, when the Jewish state was founded.
Around 760,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the Israeli-Arab war of 1948.
Many who stayed were killed, and in 2013 mass graves of Palestinians – some containing women and children – were uncovered in the Jaffa district of Tel Aviv.
All five of Mohamed’s children have been outspoken when it comes to the Palestinian cause – which has landed the family in hot water at times.
In 2022, Bella claimed that she’d lost friends and modeling jobs over her support for Palestine.
Speaking to Libyan-American journalist Noor Tagouri, the model explained: ‘There have been so many brands that have stopped working with me. A lot of friends have also turned their backs on me.’
She added: ‘I had friends that completely dropped me, like even friends that I had been having dinner with on Friday nights, for seven years, now just won’t let me into their house.’
Despite the backlash against her family, Alana has forged ahead with Watermelon Pictures.
The company’s biggest hit so far has been the documentary Israelism, which follows two Jewish American filmmakers – including one former IDF soldier – as they learn more about the treatment of Palestinians and revise their own views on Israel.
The documentary topped the Apple TV charts upon its release and has won multiple awards, but it’s also been criticized by Zionists and a number of pro-Israel groups.
Another Watermelon Pictures film, Walled Off, uses an art hotel created by English street artist Banksy to explore Palestinian history and media bias against Palestinians.
‘We are changing the ways in which we are viewed,’ Alana told The Cut last year.
‘The entertainment industry has been dehumanizing Palestinians and Arabs for so long. I have friends who are actors and they could only get the role of the “terrorist” or the “taxi driver,” but never just the human, just the guy,’ she continued.
‘I want to see a Palestinian romantic comedy. We want to see Palestinians in the mainstream.’
Reflecting on the backlash she’s received from the pro-Israel crowd at times, Alana said, ‘I’m never surprised by the vitriol — by the hatred.’
She continued, ‘You’re not silencing me by trying to discredit me or telling me I’m ugly or something. If I’m the ugliest one in the hottest family in the world, I’ll take that.’