Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph weds Pennsylvania State Sen. Vincent James Hughes in Los Angeles

Jet, August 22, 2005 by Joy Bennett Kinnon

It was a dream wedding for a Dream-girl. Complete with bright lights and big stars, the Los Angeles wedding of actress Sheryl Lee Ralph and the Honorable Senator Vincent James Hughes of Philadelphia had both the glow of love and opening night excitement.

"We understand that this love, this relationship is a blessing," Hughes says. "And we intend on treating it like that for the rest of our lives-and beyond."

The evening ceremony took place at First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) church in Los Angeles where the bride has worshipped for many years. The bride's longtime friend, Rev. Kenneth Flowers of Detroit, officiated the service that was filled with gospel and soul music.

Celebrated jazz violinist Karen Briggs set the tone of the service with a sweeping musical tribute to the couple that left the audience spellbound. The ceremony music was under the direction of gospel recording artist Gregory Jones who is also the minister of music at FAME.

It was a star-studded wedding featuring many luminaries in the bridal party. In fact only the bride, now starring in the new Showtime series "Barbershop," one of the original Dreamgirls on Broadway, and an acclaimed singer and television and feature film star could have assembled such a star-studded diva wedding party.

The bridesmaids included Patti LaBelle, Jenifer Lewis, Loretta Devine, Victoria Rowell, Judge Mablean Ephraim, A.J. Johnson, Niecy Nash, Jan Muckleston, Cici Holloway-Smith and Eula Smith.

The bride's college friend Dr. Sandra Swann was the matron of honor and her daughter Ivy-Victoria (Coco) Maurice was the maid of honor.

Alek Hughes, son of the groom, was the best man. Escorting the ladies was Congressman Chaka Fattah, Etienne Maurice (the bride's son), E. Steven Collins, Howard Deck, Richard Hunt, Willie Jordan, Anthony Lepore, Lewis Long, Anthony McDowell and Robert Watson. The debonair groom and his groomsmen wore custom-designed tuxedos by Jasper of Nashville, TN, a Black designer.

The bride's entrance was heralded with trumpet blasts and the audience gasped as she entered wearing a Tadashi-designed off-the-shoulder champagne-colored silk charmeuse gown, with a fitted and ruched bodice with Swarovski crystal straps, a seven-foot mermaid train, topped by a light gold silk pou-de-soie brocaded coat. Her head was adorned by a $16,000 diamond and pearl tiara.

Her father, Dr. Stanley Ralph, escorted the regal bride to her son, Etienne, who walked his mother the rest of the way down the aisle to her waiting groom.

Following the hour-long ceremony, the 350 invited guests headed to The Bunker Hill City Club on the 54th floor of the Wells Fargo building in downtown Los Angeles for the reception. Guests dined on a variety of American Southern soul food and Jamaican island cuisine.

The bride and groom shared their first dance to At Last, and then partied the night away with guests to music by vocalist Elaine Gibbs and her band, "The Crew."

Some of the celebrity guests included songstylist Nancy Wilson, singers Freda Payne and Brenda Russell, actor Art Evans, clothing designer Kevan Hall and family, Essence Magazine's Susan Taylor and husband Kephra Burns, former 100 Black Men chairman Thomas Dortch Jr. and his wife, Philadelphia Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown.

After the cake cutting and more dancing, the couple concluded their wedding weekend with a Sunday afternoon jazz brunch. The newlyweds then headed to Paraiso de la Bonita, a luxurious Mexican resort located between Cancun and Playa del Carmen for a weeklong honeymoon.

The couple met on a blind date arranged by a mutual friend. She was in New York rehearsing for the Broadway musical Thoroughly Modern Millie and he was in New York meeting with other senators. They announced their engagement two years ago (JET, April 21, 2003).

Senator and Mrs. Hughes plan a bicoastal marriage, maintaining homes in both Philadelphia and Los Angeles to continue their lifelong honeymoon.

Photos by Valerie Goodloe