A Luxurious NBA Fairy Tale Wedding at the Crowne Plaza in Indianapolis, Indiana

Fate and destiny may have been what brought Zachary Randolph and Faune Drake together. They had known each other since childhood. They went to the same elementary, middle and high school. They were brought up in the same church and always remember being around each other.

In high school, they were both active in sports. He played basketball and she ran track, excelled in gymnastics and played volleyball. As athletes, they had a pact to support each other. “My junior year—his senior year,” remembers Faune, “we finally had classes together. He would ask me to help him with homework, which was his way of trying to spend more time with me.”

After his freshman year at Michigan State, Zachary was drafted into the NBA. Faune graduated high school and pursued running track at Indiana State University. The two were officially together since 2001. After she finished her freshman year, Zachary asked Faune’s mom and dad if she could come live with him in Portland, Oregon and finish school at Portland State. To Faune’s delight and excitement, her parents agreed.

Three years later, she graduated and became pregnant with their first child, MacKenly. Four years and four teams later, Faune was walking into the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee with their second daughter, MaZiya. Four years after that, on November 6, 2013, during the third quarter of the Grizzlies game, Faune gave birth to their third child, ZJ.

Just a few days later, on November 9, after Zachary beat the Golden State Warriors with twenty three points and eleven rebounds, he came home to celebrate with family and friends. They all gathered in their family room for what Faune thought was going to be a family portrait. She turned around to find Zachary on one knee with a beautiful 14-carat canary diamond ring, each carat representing one of the 14 years they had been together.

Just a few days later, on November 9, after Zachary beat the Golden State Warriors with twenty three points and eleven rebounds, he came home to celebrate with family and friends. They all gathered in their family room for what Faune thought was going to be a family portrait. She turned around to find Zachary on one knee with a beautiful 14-carat canary diamond ring, each carat representing one of the 14 years they had been together.

“All I could do was cry joyful, happy tears,” remembers Faune. “It came as a total surprise,” she says, and admits the last thing she expected at that moment in time was a marriage proposal. “I just couldn’t believe he planned something like this. The first thought that crossed my mind was that I had to get in shape,” she quips.

Plans for the wedding unfolded quickly. They chose the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis as their venue. To welcome their 600 guests, the space was completely transformed into a fairytale wonderland. Varying height floral arrangements adorned the tables with hundreds of shimmering candles throughout the room, while the aisle for the ceremony was lined with thousands of white rose petals leading to a beautifully appointed arbor where the couple exchanged their vows.

“Family is very important to us,” remarks Faune. During the ceremony, they lit memorial candles for the grandparents that had passed away. The couple, their three children together, MacKenly, MaZiya and little ZJ, and the groom’s two other children, Zaqary and Zachariah, all held glass cylinders with differently colored sand. At the end of the ceremony, each poured their sand into a table frame mixing the colors to symbolize their family union.

A delectable menu followed for the reception while the high-energy music kept guests on the dance floor well into the night. A post-reception after-party where Faune slipped into her fourth dress for the evening lasted until the morning hours.

“August 10, 2014 was one of the best days of my life,” says Faune. “I married my best friend, my protector, my provider, my children’s father—a man I could not dream of being without.”