Holly Robinson weds football star Rodney Peete in lavish ceremony

Jet, July 10, 1995

In Lavish Ceremony

Holly Robinson, costar of the hit ABC sitcom "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper," recently married Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Rodney Peete in a lavish, elegant ceremony in the hills above Los Angeles.

The wedding took place at the Brentwood estate of Les Moonves, former president of Warner Brothers Television, the studio where "Mr Cooper" is shot. Moonves now heads CBS Television.

The bride wore a gown of white silk satin and pleated tulle designed exclusively for her and decorated with hand-beaded pearls and aurore borealle Austrian crystals. She was escorted down the aisle by both her parents, her mother and manager Dolores Robinson and her father Matthew Robinson Jr. of Philadelphia.

Rev. Jesse Jackson officiated at the ceremony which was held on the grounds of the estate. As he pointed out after the wedding, "Holly cried and Rodney sweated" during the ceremony. She became so emotional during the exchanging of the vows, that she began to sob.

The Perri Sisters sang a stirring rendition of The Lord's Prayer and James Ingram serenaded the couple with a smooth version of his hit Find 100 Ways.

Once the couple said their 'I do's,' the bride's gift to the groom was presented as a booming cymbal crashed and the University of Southern California marching Trojan band marched down the aisle playing the school's well-known fight song. Guests stood on their feet, applauding and waving their fingers along with Peete, who was a star quarterback at the university. Holly had arranged for the band to come in at just the time Rodney said 'I do.' "I was really surprised," he said after the tribute.

"Rodney is not the only one with a USC connection," a beaming Holly said of her successful surprise.

Following the ceremony, guests were treated to a diverse buffet dinner ranging from Southern dishes of greens and fried catfish to designer pizza.

Talented R&B singer Charlie Jene, who is blind, had the wedding party and guests dancing away for hours on end. The reception took place on the estate's tennis court.

Rodney and Holly met two years ago when both were at a club in Los Angeles. "A girlfriend of mine introduced us," Holly recalled for JET. "He was a little on the playboy side. So, I wasn't really with that."

The two met again two months after the first meeting during a barbecue Peete had at his L.A. home. This time they got a chance to spend time with each other and hit it off.

The surprise of the USC band at the wedding was not the first the couple has pulled on each other. Actually Peete played a big surprise on Holly when he proposed to her last September right on the set of "Mr Cooper."

Later this summer, Peete has to report to football training camp and Holly has to get back to the sound-stage of "Mr. Cooper." But for a few weeks they can concentrate on each other as they honeymoon in Paris and the south of France.