Celebrating Black Brides: Profile #55

Couple: Phylicia Ayers-Allen and Ahmad Rashad

Date of Wedding:  December 14, 1985

Place: Church of the Masters (New York, NY)

Officiant: Rev. Eugene S. Callender

Fun facts: 

The groom proposed to the bride on Thanksgiving Day 1985 during a broadcast of a New York Jets-Detroit Lions game.

The bride was walked down the aisle by her tv-husband, Bill Cosby.

The bride's sister, Debbie Allen, served as the maid of honor and the groom's friend and former teammate, OJ Simpson, served as best man.

Only 30 guests attended the private ceremony.  No other cast members of the The Cosby Show other than Bill Cosby were present at the wedding.

The couple divorced in 2001.

Celebrating Black Brides: Profile #53

Couple: Nicole Mitchell and Eddie Murphy

Date of Wedding:  March 18, 1993

Place: Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel (NYC)

Officiant: Rev. Calvin Butts

Fun facts: 

The bride walked down the aisle to "Don't Give Up on Love," which Murphy had performed on one of his earlier albums.

The wedding including 500 guests and cost $1.5 million.

Despite the large wedding budget, the ceremony only took 16 minutes.

All of the flowers used during the wedding were donated to a local hospital.

For the reception, the bride changed into a sequined white gown.

The couple honeymooned for one week at a private island in the Caribbean.

The couple divorced in 2006.