THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 8, 1995 TAG: 9501080100
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARK MOBLEY, LARRY W. BROWN AND ANGELA JAMISON, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
If you were looking for an African-American star Saturday evening, you could have checked Hollywood or New York.
But your best bet was Norfolk, as sitcom star Martin Lawrence married former beauty queen Patricia Southall of Chesapeake.
Hundreds of people spent the better part of the afternoon on Main Street, staring at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott Hotel and hoping to glimpse some of the entertainment world's biggest names - Eddie Murphy, Will Smith and members of the Temptations.
``I came just to see the stars, some of the celebrities,'' said Kim Southall, a ``distant, distant cousin'' of the bride. ``It's exciting. This is news for this town.''
Lawrence is the star of the hit Fox sitcom ``Martin,'' in which he plays a TV personality and other characters alongside female lead Tisha Campbell. The comedian has also appeared in the concert film ``You So Crazy'' and the ``House Party'' movies with rappers Kid 'N Play.
Southall is a former Miss Virginia USA and Miss Portsmouth Seawall who was first runner-up to Miss USA in 1994. She and Lawrence met in the summer of 1992, while she was working in then-Gov. L. Douglas Wilder's media office. Lawrence was appearing in Richmond at a ``Def Comedy Jam'' concert.
The wedding had been scheduled to be held at Portsmouth's Third Baptist
Church, but at the last minute was moved to the hotel, the site of the reception. The ceremony began at 6 p.m. and ended at 7:30.
The couple did not invite the media to the ceremony. Coverage was exclusive to Ebony magazine, which is expected to make the wedding a future cover story.
Four floors of the hotel were reserved for the wedding party. Before the ceremony, guests waited mainly in their rooms. Some mingled in the lounge.
Seating for the crowd of about 600 began at 4:30. Fourteen hostesses in crimson off-the-shoulder gowns checked, double-checked and rechecked the guests' names and invitations.
The wedding itself was a religious ceremony with songs by soul crooner Brian McKnight (``I Never Felt This Way'') and gospel singer Richard Smallwood (``The Center Of My Joy''). Tichina Arnold, who plays the feisty Pam on ``Martin,'' sang ``The Lord's Prayer.''
The bride wore a white, form-fitting gown with embroidered designs and a medium-length train. She also wore white gloves and a shoulder-length veil with a headband.
There were 18 groomsmen and 18 bridesmaids. The bridesmaids wore off-the-shoulder, cream-colored dresses with pearls and embroidered designs. They also wore diamond earrings with a pearl drop and full-length white gloves.
Lawrence did not stop smiling. When Southall walked down the aisle, he mouthed ``You look so damn good.'' Their kiss at the end was long.
Afterward, guests filed directly from the ceremony to the reception on the hotel's third floor.
Outside, both sides of the street were mobbed. People leaned over railings as far up as the sixth floor of the parking garage across the street. Housekeepers in the hotel stopped their work to look out the windows.
Some fans were aggressive about stargazing. Margaret Herring checked into the hotel.
Herring said, ``I've seen Kid 'N Play. I've seen Tisha Campbell. I've seen Eddie Murphy.
``It's just been so many people, but they're the ones that stick out on the top of my head.''
Sylvia Freeman of Portsmouth stood with a group of family and neighbors.
``We started out in Portsmouth at 2 o'clock and stayed until 4 or 4:30. Then we came over here. Just the thrill of being here is worth it. Reason I came? They said Kenny G was gonna be playing.'' In the ceremony, saxophonist Philip French played Kenny G's ``Silhouette.''
Freeman gestured up at the hotel's lighted canopy and valet parking area. ``Looks as glitzy as anyplace, doesn't it? Looks good.''
Some of the onlookers had wandered from Waterside after hearing about Lawrence getting married. Andre Washington, a teenager from Norfolk, rode his mountain bike to the hotel to catch a glimpse of the comedian. ``I like Martin,'' Washington said. ``He's funny and gets paid a lot.''
Jamillah Boykins, 15, of Portsmouth, screamed and began shaking after she caught sight of Kid and comedian Joe Torry, Lawrence's successor as host of ``Def Comedy Jam.''
For all their waiting, most people saw few stars. Denzel Washington and Patti LaBelle, rumored to be on the guest list, were not spotted.
When limousines pulled up without celebrities, the crowd booed. As a bride from another wedding made her way from the hotel to a limousine, some people sighed and others booed.
World champion welterweight boxer Pernell ``Sweetpea'' Whitaker of Virginia Beach walked in and out, shaking fans' hands. The crowd even snapped pictures of Hugh Copeland, director of the local Hurrah Players children's theater company.
Around 6 p.m., it began getting much colder. The crowd thinned considerably and people started complaining.
``I don't think it's fair that we're out here waiting,'' said Jodi Crawford of Norfolk.
People standing on the curb moved aside to let Cornelia Hinton of Great Bridge get closer to the celebrities. ``I really enjoyed myself,'' said Hinton, 72, who was using a walker. ``It's lovely that we (African-Americans) can recognize ourselves today.'' ILLUSTRATION: COLOR PHOTOS BY MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/Staff
Florists, wedding staff and even limousine drivers helped move out
the flowers and equipment from Third Baptist Church in Portsmouth on
Saturday afternoon after the wedding was moved at the last minute to
Norfolk at the Waterside Marriott Hotel.
TV star Martin Lawrence married former beauty queen Patricia
Southall in a private ceremony Saturday.
From left, Vivian Brown of Portsmouth, Shirley Williamson of Norfolk
and Myrtis Wray, 12, of Portsmouth, join a star-gazing crowd in
Norfolk.
Photo
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/Staff
Police hold back a crowd at a Portsmouth corner after telling them
that the wedding of Martin Lawrence and Patricia Southall had been
moved to Norfolk. The crowd lingered, some not believing police.
by CNB