Top weddings of the year

Ebony, Feb, 2003 by Joy Bennett Kinnon

WHETHER on secluded beaches, in sumptuous ballrooms, majestic cathedrals or simply squeezed into a press conference, actors, actresses, singers, lawyers and football coaches all said their "I Do's" in 2002 with their own special style.

Most of the Top Weddings of the Year featured a family theme with even some of the best-known couples in America choosing to celebrate their special day with select guest lists that included only the closest of friends and family. When singers Chante Moore and Kenny Lattimore married on New Year's Day in Jamaica, their ceremony was so private that family members only received 48 hours' notice. When actors Dondre T. Whitfield and Salli Richardson wed in Los Angeles, the Hollywood pair deliberately chose a "non-Hollywood"-theme wedding before only 120 close family members and friends at Immanuel Presbyterian Church. Actors Laurence Fishburne and Gina Torres wed in an intimate ceremony at The Cloisters museum in Manhattan. But not everyone chose to limit the guest list. Singer Quinnes (Q) Parker of the group 112 and his bride wed in Atlanta with two separate invitation lists that included 350 for the wedding ceremony and sit-down dinner, and 850 invitations sent for the wedding and the after-party.

Grambling State University football coach Doug Williams wed Atlanta dentist Lisa Judge at a press conference promoting the first Silver Dollar Classic, pitting Grambling against Tennessee State University. But he says he had to talk his bride into the plan. And Attorney Sekou Gary, son of well-known Florida-based Attorney Willie Gary, and his bride, Attorney Tanisha Nunn, wed at the Breakers Hotel in a classy ceremony that attracted major Black media and entertainment personalities.

So whether the reservations were for two or 2,000, whether the wedding ceremony was the first, the second or the latest, the brides still blushed and the grooms were still proud as they repeated the enduring vow to love and honor their new spouse from this day forward.

Actors SALLI RICHARDSON-WHITFIELD and DONDRE T. WHITFIELD arrive at their wedding reception at Campanile, a popular Los Angeles restaurant. The couple (below) shares the first dance. Married at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles before a crowd of approximately 120 family members and friends, the bride planned every detail of the wedding herself, down to handmaking the keepsake photos that were given to guests.

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JUDGE JOE BROWN, star of the TV courtroom show Judge Joe Brown, and the former DEBORAH HERRON exchanged wedding vows at a private seaside ceremony in Oxnard, Calif. The judge swept his bride off her feet to the cheers of family and friends who attended.

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Singers CHANTE MOORE and KENNY LATTIMORE wed secretly in a New Year's Day ceremony at the Grand Lido Sans Souci Hotel in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. The couple shared their first dance to Marvin Gaye's "If I Should Die Tonight." The duo is expecting a new little singer in April.

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Actors LAURENCE FISHBURNE and GINA TORRES tied the knot in a private ceremony before 100 guests at The Cloisters museum in Manhattan. One of the guests described the intimate ceremony as "beautiful, spiritual and romantic." Among the celebrities at the nuptials were Cicely Tyson, Roscoe Lee Browne, Lenny Kravitz, Elton John and Keanu Reeves, Fishburne's co-star in The Matrix. Torres is starring in the Fox-TV series Firefly.

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Balladeer WILL DOWNING and singer AUDREY WHEELER exchanged vows in a private ceremony at Landor Fine Arts Gallery in Newark. Their old-school music reception featured Freddie Jackson, D-Train and Alyson Williams as well as friends, family, producers and songwriters.

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Attorneys SEKOU GARY and TANISHA NUNN-GARY wed at The Breakers resort in Palm Beach, Fla., before 500 guests who included media moguls Cathy Hughes and Earl Graves, former NBA great Julius (Dr. J) Erving, and activist and comedian Dick Gregory. Noted Attorney Willie E. Gary (below, left) escorts his wife, Gloria, down the aisle at son's wedding ceremony that was officiated by the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. and the Rev. Gerald Kisner. Academy Award-winning singer and musician Isaac Hayes (below) was one of the performers at the wedding reception.

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QUINNES (Q) DAYMOND PARKER of the hit group 112 married SHARLINDA DIANE ROWE at the Second Ponce De Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta. Singer Faith Evans sang at the ceremony.

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Actor-comedian-writer GUY TORRY and his bride, the former MONICA RENAE ASKEW, were wed at St. Alphonsus Rock Catholic Church in St. Louis. The bride is a model and national sales promoter for Clear Channel Broadcasting. Torry's brother, Joe, also an actor and comedian, wed last year at the same church.

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Grambling State University football coach DOUG WILLIAMS married LISA JUDGE, an Atlanta dentist, in a six-minute ceremony conducted by Mike Phelan immediately following a news conference at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas to announce the Silver Dollar Classic between Grambling and Tennessee State University.