NFL quarterback Drake Maye reveals major life-changing news ahead of 2025 season
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has cause for celebration this offseason as he tied the knot with his childhood sweetheart over the weekend.
The 22-year-old tied the knot with longtime love Ann Michael Hudson just five months after popping the question in January.
In stunning snaps shared to social media, the happy couple were captured celebrating saying 'I do' with their nearest and dearest.
The signal caller, who was selected by the Patriots with the No. 3 overall pick in last year's NFL Draft, and his new wife exchanged their vows in front of the picturesque setting of the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains.
They hosted their ceremony at the exclusive Grandfather Golf and Country Club nestled in their native North Carolina.
The loved-up couple and their friends and family partied the night away under an open-sided tent on the club's gorgeous grounds.
In a couple of photos, Maye was captured whisking his blushing bride to the dancefloor. The new Mrs. Maye looked ethereal in a strapless, drop-waisted, crisp white gown with the full skirts swirling around as her husband twirled her.
In keeping with tradition, the couple cut the cake together before feeding each other a bite in one photo.
Meanwhile, Maye couldn't keep his eyes of his glowing bride as bopped around the dancefloor, her chic and elegant updo disheveled by the merriment.
The couple are high school sweethearts, having met in middle school and dating all through their high school and college years.
They celebrated their nine-year anniversary last October with Ann Michael commemorating the occasion with a sweet Instagram post.
The University of North Carolina product finally got down on one knee during a trip to Mexico in January - after the Patriots' season had come to an end.
Maye left UNC after just three years there - bolting for the NFL - while Ann Michael graduated from Chapel Hill with a double major in entrepreneurship and conflict management in April.
The brunette beauty has been by the signal caller's side throughout his career, supporting him at last year's draft.
Last season, Maye compiled a record of 3-9 as he led New England's struggling and underpowered offense that lacked skill at most key positions.
He finished his rookie campaign starting 12 games - completing 225 of 338 passes for 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns, and ten interceptions.
However, he has looked more confident in spring training sessions as he adjusts to new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel's system.
'I'm starting to really find a stride,' Maye said. 'It's all the same concepts in the league, but it's different words, different verbiage. It's mostly the same guys running [routes], but just feeling out how they run it and timing when you get into different concepts. It's been good.'
The Patriots will open their 2025 campaign against the Las Vegas Raiders in Foxborough on September.
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
The luxury Venice hotels where the Bezos wedding guests are staying (and affordable alternatives)
As the nozze di Bezos melodrama rolls into town, Venetians are each preparing in his or her own way. The city's millionaire mayor Luigi Brugnano is preening, its anti-crowds protesters are polishing their placards, while in ultra-luxe hotels pillows are being plumped for the fortunate few on an ultra-glamorous, ultra-high-net-worth guestlist. On Venice's streets and waterways the 200-odd pampered invitees can expect to be disrupted when they descend into the tourist-packed city for the wedding extravaganza on June 24-26… or 26-18; there are conflicting reports. Protest organisers have already plastered venerable walls with 'No space for Bezos' posters – a reference to the Amazon boss' Blue Origin space venture. Next they're calling for pedestrian mayhem and water-borne hurdles along wedding-guest routes as Bezos attempts to tie the knot with his journalist fiancée Lauren Sànchez. So the straightforward, unchallenged luxury beyond the doors of the classic hotels where guests are rumoured to be staying will come as a blessed relief. And Venice's grandes dames hotels have decades – even centuries – experience of making the very rich and very powerful feel very special. Intrigue continues to swirl around the actual nuptials: word is they may take place on board Bezos' yacht Koru, possibly to be moored, gazing across the lagoon at St Mark's square, at the island of San Giorgio Maggiore – though the dock's website says only boats up to 13m long are accepted, so at 127 metres (417 ft), the Koru hardly meets the specs. There's far less call for wild speculation, though, where accommodation is concerned: the tried-and-tested candidates for indulgent stopovers are obvious. The inevitable 'insiders' who have been proliferating as the event draws closer seem to have coalesced around the Aman Venice as the most likely choice for the bride and groom themselves. This could simply be by association: George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin chose it when they married in Venice in 2014. But there's no denying that this five-star in magnificent Palazzo Papadopoli is the perfect perch on the central reaches of the Grand Canal. (Wedding date hint: at the time of writing it was still possible to book a canal-facing room for June 24 for a mere €3,905. From June 25-29 the place is full.) With just an inconspicuous gate in the high wall around the Aman's delightfully secluded garden, access here is predominantly by water, giving the patrician palazzo a paparazzo-proofed feel, for guests who wish to be gossiped about but not disturbed. On the eastern tip of the Giudecca island – and with an Olympic-sized pool to boot – the Belmond Cipriani is a favourite haunt of privacy-seeking movie stars during the Venice Film Festival and will no doubt be hosting a gaggle of wedding guests. Much-loved concierge Roberto – fount of all Venetian knowledge and for decades the personification of the hotel's effortless charm – has slipped quietly into retirement but his imprint on the vibe remains. It says much about this hotel that the only gate from the rest of the island into the premises is fiendishly difficult to find and takes you through backstage areas, into further reaches of the garden. For the average, non-adventurous guest the place is rigorously water-facing, with arrival by launch to the jealously guarded private dock de rigueur. Also sadly missing now from Venice's classic hotel scene is ebullient, bespectacled Paolo Lorenzoni, who took the historic Gritti Palace hotel – with a superlative collection of antique furniture and gallery-grade art and now part of Marriott's Luxury Collection – from delightfully elegant dowager to cutting-edge classic glamour in a $35 million restoration programme during his 15 years as general manager. Here too, the influence endures. As they settle into ornate suites (the Redentore Suite with its own rooftop pool comes in at a cool €14,000), or gaze upon Grand Canal traffic from their breakfast table, the Bezos-Sànchez wedding guests will certainly be made to feel like they're old friends paying a visit. Those opting for the lagoon-front Hotel Danieli, on the Riva degli Schiavoni waterfront just round the corner from the Doges' Palace, will find this luxe bolthole in a state of flux, as management transitions from the Marriott group to Four Seasons. The hotel will remain open throughout an on-going renovation under the guidance of French interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon; the full takeover should be completed by the end of 2025. In the meantime guests still enjoy one of the finest dining views in the city, from a rooftop restaurant where the Bezos yacht will hog the limelight if indeed it does tie up at the San Giorgio Maggiore marina, directly opposite. Marriott may be retreating from the riva but it's still exquisitely placed in the watery city with its Grand Canal-fronting St Regis. Here, guests can relax between wedding commitments in a compact outdoor space with the canal lapping against the balcony, looking straight across to the bridal-white curves of the Santa Maria della Salute basilica. Doubtless some extra-fortunate members of the wedding crew will be enjoying a similar view far from the threat of passing paparazzi, from private rooftop terraces in suites that can cost upwards of €9,000 a night. The canal-fronting palazzo may have been accepting guests since 1895 but the current ambience is retro-contemporary, with rotating displays of artworks in glass – ideal for those who prefer clean lines and lagoon-inspired pastels to sumptuous brocades and classic over-the-top Murano crystal. 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Also in this location is the St Regis – and the much more accessibly priced Novecento Boutique Hotel. This small and intimate property offers an alternative to standard Venetian decor with beautifully exotic fabrics and colours in its rooms, which start from just £257 in July. A lagoon view from the riva degli Schiavoni waterfront rarely comes cheap, but for £205 at the Hotel Pensione Wildner you'll have just as fine a view of the San Giorgio island as you would at Hotel Danieli. The restaurant is also excellent.
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Wedding guest issues stark warning after popular tradition leaves bride covered in blood
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