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African American Stars share their wedding details. Whether it's an over-the-top, media-frenzied extravaganza or a private, friends-and-family-only ceremony, the wedding of two famous folks is always a cause for celebration — and much media attention!
Whitney Houston & Bobby Brown
Who says being married is easy?
When Whitney married bad-boy of R&B and ex-New Edition hitmaker, Bobby Brown, on July 18, 1992, the media instantly predicted that the marriage wouldn't last and have been quick to jump on every whisper of disharmony and argument as sign of an imminent break-up. However the union seems to be lasting and the couple are seen regularly out in public. There have been moments of upset in the relationship, most notably the alleged slapping of Whitney by Brown in a car-park incident in Hawaii in 1997, but also moments of joy, such as the birth of their daughter, Bobbi Kristina, on March 4th, 1993.
The wedding
It was the wedding of the decade, the most talked-about celebrity event of the year 1992, and the most coveted invitation of the summer social season.
Superstar singer Whitney Houston and pop star Bobby Brown exchanged wedding vows in a private ceremony on Houston's posh New Jersey estate. A small gathering of family and close friends, celebrities and entertainment tycoons, they were pronounced husband and wife in a romantic garden gazebo adorned with 8,000 roses and hundreds of orchids, all in lavender and purple, the bride's favorite colors.
Wearing a form-fitting beaded, Lyon lace gown with a four-foot train and a beaded headpiece with floor-length beaded tulle, a teary-eyed Houston was escorted down the carpeted aisle--which led from a rear entrance of her $10 million home--by her father, John Houston, as a string orchestra played Mendelssohn's wedding march.
Rev. Marvin Winans, a member of the popular gospel singing family, officiated at the 35-minute, double-ring ceremony. BeBe Winans sang "Enough Said," a song he composed especially for the couple a few days before the wedding. His brother, Daniel Winans, sang a song he had written for Houston years before he met her. Both songs were so touching that the bride and groom and many in the audience were moved to tears. Throughout the ceremony, the maid of honor, Robyn Crawford, had to blot tears from the bride's eyes and cheeks.
Afterwards, the newlyweds entertained 800 guests at a lavish wedding reception hosted in a huge air-conditioned, carpeted ballroom tent constructed on Houston's lawn above the swimming pool. Lavender and purple fabrics draped the ceiling and lined the tent, giving the illusion of an Arabian palace. Some 15,000 lilac and purple dendrobium orchids decorated support columns, entrances and exits. Each of the 84 tables in the dining tent, one of seven set up for the affair, was clothed and beribboned in three layers of lavender ribbed satin that highlighted the elaborate centerpieces. The floral arrangements included blue roses and cattleya orchids in shades of lavender and purple. Candles in hurricane glasses created a warm, romantic glow that contrasted with the elaborate and effective light and sound show. Guests identified their tables by silver-trimmed white cards with phrases, such as "Lover For Life" and "Love Obsession," scripted in lavender.
The sit-down dinner was opulent but relaxed, for in between courses the formally attired guests boogied on the purple and white oval dance floor to music programmed by David Cole and Robert Clivilles of C + C Music Factory. The menu included chilled peach soup, grilled chateaubriand, jersey chicken breasts stuffed with collard greens, and grilled herbed vegetables. For dessert, there were fresh berries, an assortment of chocolate delicacies, as well as slices of the six-tiered, 18-layered wedding cake. The architectural confection, decorated with hand-molded lavender sugar violets, had alternating layers of strawberry lemon mousse and banana cake. An army of waiters kept glasses filled with Dom Perignon and Cristal champagne throughout the evening.
The newlyweds' happiness was quite evident during the reception as they danced cheek to cheek, sipped champagne, mingled with guests and playfully squished cake in each other's faces and then licked it off. The last guests did not leave until 2 a.m., some 12 hours after the festivities began.
The following morning, Brown and Houston flew on the Concorde to Europe for a 10-day Mediterranean cruise aboard a luxurious 140-foot yacht with a crew of nine. The honeymoon was a wedding gift from Arista and MCA.
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