‘Untamed’ Star Lily Santiago Marries Sam Nix Wedding Exclusive

Lily Santiago, who stars in Netflix’s hit series Untamed, is married!

The actress, 29, married fellow actor Sam Nix, 32, in an intimate wedding attended by 110 guests at Brooklyn Winery in Greenpoint, on Friday, Sept. 5. For the Brooklyn bride, tying the knot in New York City was a full circle moment, as she was born and raised in the city.

“We will be starting our married life living here, so a wedding in the city was fitting and convenient,” Santiago tells PEOPLE.

With great wine being Santiago’s one must-have, it was only natural that she wed at a winery.

“Brooklyn Winery was very well-suited to us as we are enthusiastic lovers of food and wine, and they have an industrial chic, natural yet glamorous feel that is warm and welcoming, while also feeling classy and special,” she says.

Santiago and Nix’s primary focus was to unite their two families, who live “literally across the world from each other.” Understanding that it might be the only time everyone is together, the couple ensured their celebration was worth all the travel.

“Ultimately, it was most important to us that there was ample time for shared joy and conversation at a family-style dinner with time for a boogie after,” Santiago says.

Santiago and Nix walked down the aisle to an instrumental piano and cello version of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” before they exchanged handwritten vows and Ring Concierge wedding bands.

The La Brea alum turned heads wearing a custom floral gown designed by Hayley Paige, who recently made her triumphant return to bridal and regained the rights to her name and intellectual property after a years-long legal battle with her former label, JLM Couture.

“I am the luckiest bride in the world to have worked with Hayley Paige to build my dress,” Santiago gushes. “This is a pivotal year for her, and in the middle of her re-launch, with a huge runway show coming up, she met every wish I had. Her generosity and talent made this process so fun. She has such an infectious passion for designing, and her warmth and collaborative spirit allowed me to dream big.”

The Say Yes to the Dress star tells PEOPLE that Santiago will have the honor of naming her wedding dress, as it “carries the mark of her muse energy throughout.” Paige explains that her design centers around “a hand-illustrated mosaic floral motif that winds its way up a sculpted high-neck bodice before dissolving, petal by petal, into a soft tulle skirt.” The gown also features a plunging backline for “a whisper of sultry elegance,” as well as “a lace-mapped waist.”

“To me, a wedding dress should express both heritage and art — something that carries the weight of your story while welcoming the next chapter. With Lily, the custom design was a loving and personal process,” Paige says. “As an actress and someone who comes from an expressive and artistic family, she brings an intuitive sense of presence, emotion, and aesthetic fluency to everything she does.”

The designer continues: “This wasn’t just about crafting a beautiful gown, it was about creating something that echoed her roots, her romanticism and her singular light … Feeling fully yourself and fully luminous on your wedding day shouldn’t be a luxury — it should be the baseline, and in this case, the non-negotiable. Especially for someone who’s spent her life stepping into roles; this one was entirely her own.”

Santiago later changed into a “modern yet classic” midi white dress from Adrianna Papell for the afterparty.

The ceremony was officiated by the bride’s older brother, Broderick, who was the perfect choice to share “inspiring and spiritually uplifting” words because he’s a pastor, mentor, motivational speaker, marriage counselor and community activist.

The aesthetic of the reception marked the end of summer and beginning of autumn with shades of blue and warm, bronzy browns. Gabrielle Aronas arranged the elegant florals.

As they drank wine, guests dined on an Italian meal served family-style. Savory meats and cheeses were served alongside passed hors d’oeuvres, plus dishes of Caesar salad, fried chicken, grilled steak, mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

“Sam comes from a big Italian family, so we wanted to honor the tradition of big full tables with platters of food circling all night,” Santiago says.

For dessert was a chocolate cake with brown butter vanilla buttercream icing baked by Gaby Scelzo, decorated with baby blue ruffles and pink frosted roses. The newlyweds cut their first slice as Four Tops’ “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” played.

The pair selected “You Are the Best Thing” by Ray LaMontagne for their first dance. Halfway through the dance, the couple’s parents joined them.

The rest of Santiago and Nix’s friends and family members hit the dance floor as a DJ from Beat Train Productions played upbeat music.

“Marrying each other is, cheesily, the dream come true,” Santiago shares. “The wedding is something we just feel so privileged to get to host and experience.”

The following day, Saturday, Sept. 6, was a farewell brunch at a local bar.

Santiago and Nix are currently planning “a big party” in Australia for anyone who was unable to attend their New York wedding. They will also go on a “European escape” to Italy and Spain for their honeymoon.

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Australia is where the couple’s love story began in 2021. At the time, Santiago was filming La Brea in Melbourne, where Nix was working as part of the transport crew. Nix picked Santiago up on her first day heading to the studio, and she was “immediately infatuated” with him. 

“Not just because he’s incredibly handsome, but because my face hurt from laughing so much, he spoke so lovingly about his family, and he spoke so passionately about theater,” Santiago remembers. “He was very respectful and professional, so I had no clue if he was interested in me at all, but after a few weeks I couldn’t take it anymore and blurted out, ‘Is it just me or is there something going on here?’ Luckily, it wasn’t just me.”

After they confessed their romantic feelings toward each other, the couple “got very close, very quickly,” spending nearly every weekend together “mostly stuck inside and falling in love” due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. 

A few years later on Sept. 1, 2024, Nix proposed in Tofino on Vancouver Island. The couple and their close friends got a house there together because Santiago was filming in Vancouver. 

“After a morning of whale watching and exploring the town, we headed home to rest before dinner,” Santiago shares. “Our bedroom had a view of the ocean where we could see otters playing and the bright sun shining on the water, and that’s where he asked me to marry him!”

For the couple, marriage is just another step in their “continued commitment to our partnership.”

“Honestly, whether we were married or not, we knew we wanted to spend our lives together, and getting married is a celebratory dedication to that union,” Santiago says.

They’re ready to kiss long-distance dating goodbye, build a home together and eventually adopt a dog.