Tamela and David Mann, married for 25 years, reaffirmed their vows in Dallas on Saturday (Apr. 20) surrounded by loved ones, Us Weekly reports. The gospel singers and actors, both 46, were legally wed in 1988 but never had a proper ceremony.
“When we got married 25 years ago, we didn’t have enough money for a wedding,” explains Tamela, whose pastor married the couple in his study. At the time, the “Take Me To The King!” singer even had to borrow a ring.
This year, however, Tamela finally got her dream wedding. The bride “spent months” working with Binzario Couture to design the perfect gown. “I knew every intimate detail of it, but when I saw it at my final fitting last week, I lost it,” she recalls. “It was everything I could have ever dreamed of in a bridal gown.”
The ceremony and the reception was a labor of love for the couple, who began dating in high school and went on to star in a slew of Tyler Perry films. “We wanted a fairytale wedding, so we picked an enchanted forest theme,” Tamela says. With the help of KP Designs, the Grammy winners were able to incorporate live trees and “all kinds of flowers” in the decor.
“We hosted everyone at the Joule Hotel because it had the feel we were trying to create — old-world romantic, beautiful, chic and lush — and a place everyone would love,” Tamela tells Us. “And it had space for a dance floor, which if you know David, was something we had to have!”
The Cake Guys created the couple’s wedding cake, and Christy Davison from Dallas’ Sweet Creations made the groom’s cake. Tamela — who starred in Perry’s hit television series “Meet The Browns” with her husband — says they wanted to “keep the invite intimate.” Their high school friend Kirk Franklin and his wife Tammy attended, as did Timbaland and his wife Monique Idlett Mosley.
Tamela and David’s grandchildren each participated in the ceremony. “Our grand babies were dressed as little princes and princesses,” the bride says. “Our children weren’t happy they didn’t get to be in the ceremony, but they eventually were okay with it because their kids got to be on stage with us.” (The pair has three daughters and one son.)
David Mann said they couldn’t share too many more details about the ceremony because it was all going to be shown in their upcoming reality show to debut late 2013/early 2014.
