Weddings of the year

Ebony, Feb, 2004 by Joy Bennett Kinnon

50 years later ...

Several prominent couples celebrated 50th wedding anniversaries last year with family and fanfare. Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan and his wife, Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, were married 50 years ago on Sept. 12, 1953, at St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church in Boston. Minister and Mother Farrakhan celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Sept. 12, 2003, at the Palace in Chicago.

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Dr. Frederick K.C. Price, founder and pastor of Los Angeles-based Crenshaw Christian Center, and his wife, Dr. Betty Price, were married on March 29, 1953, at Macedonia Baptist Church in Los Angeles County. The Prices celebrated March 30,2003, at the Beverly Hills Hotel with family and friends at a reception hosted by their children.

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David and Delores (Mom and Pop) Winans were married November 21, 1953, at the Zion Congregational Church of God in Christ in Detroit. Mom and Pop Winans celebrated Nov. 21, 2003, in the Riverview Ballroom at the Cobo Conference Exhibition Center in a gala celebration hosted by their children.

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Craig Lee and his new bride, the former Memuna Mustapha, received congratulations from his (l. to r.) mother, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and grandmother, Mildred Massey, and the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson St., who officiated at their wedding at the Mills College Chapel in Oakland, Calif. The groom holds a bachelor's degree in business from Saint Mary's College of California and is an underwriting supervisor at State Farm Insurance. The bride earned her bachelor's degree in economics from Saint Mary's College of California and is a business development officer at Peoples Community Partnership Federal Credit Union. The newlyweds honeymooned in Ghana.

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The Chicago-area wedding of superstar NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb attracted some of his Philadelphia Eagles teammates and other NFL stars like running backs Jerome Bettis and Eddie George.

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Jada Jackson, Ebony Fashion Fair commentator (above), and Gospel singer Ernest Collins exchanged vows in Orlando at the Faith World Church, where the couple met. The bride wore a white beaded couture gown by designer Stephen Yearrick. Her wedding party included several former Ebony Fashion Fair models.

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Alberta Fitcheard (below), rookie cornerback for the Dallas Diamonds, a women's professional football team, didn't wear cleats, but she chose a most unusual wedding location when she married Elijah Brydson Jr., a professional race car driver, on the 50 yard line at Birdsville Stadium in Dallas. Immediately following the wedding, the bride changed from her bridal gown into her team uniform.

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When Jessie Drew Pottsdamer and Gordon Eugene Watson (above, r.) married in a sunset ceremony in Florida, the Rev. Andrew Young officiated, and the bride, a former school administrator, was escorted by her grandchildren. The groom, a former federal employee, "got down" (right) to remove the traditional garter.