Top weddings of the year - Brief Article

Ebony, Feb, 2002 by Joy Bennett Kinnon

IT was a year of off-shoulder gowns, secret rendezvous and second and third chances. Singer Toni Braxton married her prince in a Georgia wonderland, and Emira Eagle Lymon, widow of Frankie Lymon ("Why Do Fools Fall in Love"), said "I do" again after 35 years, answering the question, What's age got to do with it?

Many of the top weddings, especially the Braxton, Knight and Iverson weddings, were super-secret affairs in which guests received cryptic invitations that directed them to rendezvous where they were picked up and bussed to the actual location. One of the most interesting weddings of the year (not pictured here because it has not been pictured anywhere), the marriage of Halle Berry to Eric Benet, was so secret that only a handful of people can actually say the wedding took place.

Many weddings were family affairs. Gladys Knight was escorted down the aisle by her son, Shanga Hankerson. Natalie Cole was escorted down the aisle by her son, Robert Yancey.

Whether the vows were said in secret or for the second or third time, brides and grooms were as usual resplendent and testified as usual to the enduring promise of love, marriage and family. At least one of the couples--Toni Braxton and Keri Lewis--dated the stork and became parents of a 5-pound, 12-ounce baby boy, Denim Cole Braxton Lewis.

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Caption: Singer Toni Braxton (left) and musician/producer Keri Lewis married in a spectacular--and secret--Georgia garden ceremony in the top wedding of the year, which was featured exclusively in EBONY. The bride and groom--flanked by their parents, the Rev. Michael Braxton Sr. and Evelyn Braxton (r.) and Clarence Lewis and Margaret Lewis (l.)--exchanged vows in front of 250 guests. Usher, Kenny (Babyface) Edmonds, Monica and Chilli (of the group TLC) attended the ceremony, which was conducted by former UN Ambassador, the Rev. Andrew Young.

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Caption: Singer Gladys Knight (left) wed business executive William McDowell in a private, romantic ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel in California. It was the third marriage for Knight, who was escorted down the aisle by her son, Shanga Hankerson. McDowell's son, Isaac, served as best man, and Knight's daughter and manager, Kenya Jackson, was a maid of honor during the family affair that even her publicist didn't know about until the day of the wedding.

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Caption: Natalie Cole (far left) married Bishop Kenneth H. Dupree at his church in Nashville, Tenn. The ceremony at Victory Baptist Church marked Cole's third marriage and Dupree's second marriage. The bride's son, Robert (Robbie) A. Yancey, escorted her down the aisle. Guests included The View co-star Star Jones and Dionne Warwick.

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Caption: Boyz II Men singer Shawn Patrick Stockman (above) and longtime love, film producer Sharhonda Lavette Jones, cut their wedding cake after exchanging vows in the bride's hometown of Toledo, Ohio.

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Caption: Temptations singer Harry McGilberry Jr. and film makeup artist Joyce B. McGilberry (left) were wed at A Little White Chapel in Las Vegas. This is the second marriage for both the bride and groom.

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Caption: Congressman Chaka Fattah, D-Pa. (above) married NBC-10 anchor Renee Chenault during a posh ceremony at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Philadelphia. The wedding party included Fattah's daughter, Frances, as the maid of honor, and son, Chaka (Chip) Fattah Jr., as best man. Chenault's daughter, Cameron, was one of six flower girls.

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Caption: Philadelphia 76ers guard Alien Iverson (right) married longtime sweetheart Tawanna Turner during a secret, celebrity-filled ceremony. The two have a son, Allen II (Deuce), and a daughter, Tiaura.

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Caption: Gown of the year was a Vera Wang creation for Toni Braxton. The full gown made of duchess satin featured a notched crystal-beaded bodice with back-button detail, and a cathedral train with matching veil.

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Caption: Ivory brocade gown (right) with flowing veil, chosen by daughter Kenya Jackson, was a big hit at Gladys Knight's wedding.

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Caption: Silver gown designed by Mark Goff (far right) looked stunning on singer/actress Natalie Cole.

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Caption: Demure gown with fitted bodice (left) from Bride by Liza was worn by Erica Atkins of gospel duo Mary Mary for her wedding to producer-songwriter Warryn Stafford Campbell II.

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Caption: Actor-comedian Joseph Torry (left) and bride Chrystal Benson left their wedding at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in St. Louis in a well-stocked Rolls Royce limousine. Comedian-actor Guy Torry served as his brother's best man. The couple had been dating for six years.

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Caption: Emira Eagle Lymon (left), widow of famed singer Frankie Lymon, married Leroy Bryant in the same Beulah Grove Baptist Church in Augusta, Ga., where she wed the late singer on June 30, 1967.