Brokerage firm CEO Ronald Blaylock weds airport consultant/senior VP Judith Byrd in New York

Jet, July 11, 2005

Ronald Edward Blaylock exchanged marital vows with Judith Irene Byrd at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York.

The beautiful bride was a sight to behold. Escorted down the aisle by her brother, Lionel P. Byrd Jr., she wore a slim trumpet-style gown with a sweetheart neckline and Chantilly lace overlay and a skirt featuring hand-appliqued ruffles and sweep train. Ethiopian-born designer Amsale created the lovely gown.

The Rev. Andrew C. Mead was the officiant. The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. gave a prayer during the ceremony. The melodious sounds of harpist Jeff Majors were performed during the ceremony.

Blaylock and Byrd began dating three years ago after meeting on a blind date. The two were engaged last August in Martha's Vineyard at "Sandy Lane," the home of Lloyd and Teri Trotter. Lloyd Trotter is president and CEO of GE Consumer & Industrial.

Byrd is the senior vice president and a founding partner of the Chicago-based Unison-Maximus, an airport consulting firm. A graduate of Howard University, she earned a law degree from Georgetown University.

Blaylock is the founder, chairman and chief executive of the institutional brokerage and asset management firm Blaylock & Company, Inc. He is a graduate of Georgetown University where he was a member of the first NCAA Final Four basketball team. Blaylock earned his MBA at New York University Stern School of Business.

This is the bride's first marriage; it is the groom's second marriage. He is the father of three.

NBA star Patrick Ewing, Blaylock's roommate and basketball teammate at Georgetown, served as a groomsman as did Alfred C. Liggins III, president and CEO Radio One, Inc., and Lyle Logan, Sr., senior vice president, Northern Trust. Nationally renowned litigator Theodore V. Wells Jr., partner and co-chair of the Litigation Department at Paul, Weiss, was the best man.

The reception was held at the University Club. Rev. Jackson also gave invocation at the reception before dinner. Guests dined on medallions of lobster, dry-aged sirloin steak and Chilean sea bass and were entertained by Tuck & Patti.

The night before, Dale Cochran, widow of famed attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., hosted a rehearsal dinner at the Metropolitan Club. Sen. Barack Obama was among those attending the rehearsal dinner.

In addition to Lloyd Trotter and wife Teri, and the bride's cousin, actress Lynn Whitfield, guests at the wedding included: Linda Johnson Rice, Johnson Publishing Co. president and CEO, and husband Mel Farr, Triple M Acceptance president; Star Jones Reynolds, "The View" co-host, and husband Al Reynolds; Robert L. Johnson, BET founder; Debra Lee, BET CEO; Vicki Mabrey, "60 Minutes II" correspondent; Marc Morial, president and CEO, National Urban League, and wife, anchorwoman Michelle Miller; H. Carl McCall, former New York State Comptroller, and wife Dr. Joyce F. Brown, president Fashion Institute of Technology; Kenneth Chenault, chairman and CEO, American Express, and wife Kathryn; Cathy Hughes, founder Radio One, Inc.; Susan Fales Hill, writer/producer, and husband Aaron Hill; Dr. Keith L. Black, director of neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and wife, Dr. Carol Bennett; Stanley O'Neal, chairman of the board, CEO and president, Merrill Lynch, and wife Nancy Garvey; Kenneth Langone, founder Home Depot, and wife Elaine; Dennis Dammerman, vice chairman, General Electric, and wife Marsha; David Koch of Koch Industries and wife Julia; Walt Frazier, NBA legend; Dikembe Mutombo, NBA star; John Rogers, chairman and CEO Ariel Capital Management, LLC, and his wife Sharon; Mellody Hobson, financial contributor for "Good Morning America" and president Ariel Capital Management, LLC; Desiree Rogers, president Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas; Peter Bynoe, chairman of Telemat Ltd., and his wife Linda; Hon. Ann Claire Williams; Sen. Jon S. Corzine; Cong. Harold Ford Jr.; Bruce Gordon, former senior executive at Verizon Communications Inc. and newly appointed president and CEO of the NAACP, and wife Tawana Tibbs; Arthur H. Harper, president and CEO GE Equipment Management, and wife Linda; Richard S. Fuld Jr., chairman and CEO, Lehman Brothers, and wife Kathy; Alma Brown, widow Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown; and Scott Hodes of Bryan Cave, LLP, and wife Maria Bechily.

The couple, who will reside in New York, honeymooned in the Amalfi Coast in Italy (Positano, Sorrento and Capri).