InStyle (May 2000)

the sweetest day

KNOWING THAT HER CHILDREN WERE "ECSTATIC" ABOUT HER MARRIAGE TO NBA STAR RICK FOX MADE VANESSA WILLIAMS FEEL AS IF SHE´D SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST

by Danyel Smith

For Vanessa Williams, it´s true that love is lovelier the second time around. On a clear, warm day last September in New York City, the 36-year-old actress, mother of three, platinum-selling recording artist and former Miss America was married to Rick Fox, 30, an aspiring actor (HBO´s Oz, 1998´s He Got Game) as well as the Los Angeles Lakers´ star forward. The two celebrities - Vanessa admittedly guarded about love and Rick working in a world he says is cynical about it - had surprised themselves by falling head over heels.

The couple met at a book-signing party for Williams´s longtime friend and makeup artist, Sam Fine. Rick then invited Vanessa to his 29th-birthday party. "Rick and I danced and had some champagne," she recalls, "and he´s been in my life ever since." For Fox, too, their relationship seemed inevitable: "While I was getting to know her, I got to a point where I felt life would be miserable without her."

In the beginning, Williams says, she was "freaked out" about the age difference. "But I was surprised by his maturity," she continues. "He has this very endearing quality. He´s warm and a gentleman. There´s a sense of normalcy and responsibility with Rick." It was also important to her to find someone who respected and enjoyed her three kids, who were, she says, "ecstatic" on the big day. (Her first marriage ended in 1997.)

In a stunning silver Vera Wang gown, Vanessa was even more radiant than her pale yellow, princess-cut engagement-and-wedding ring, by Kaufmann de Suisse. Surrounded by 100 guests, she and the 6-foot-7-inch Rick (in a tuxedo by L.A.´s Rick Pollack) exchanged vows in a traditional Catholic ceremony at Holy Trinity Church in New York City. They had earlier tied the knot in a civil ceremony in Fox´s native Bahamas.

Williams describes the church as "very open, with lots of arches, and formal but relaxed." Ivory roses, by Lesly Zamor of Bloom, in New York City, spilled from the altar, and thick, cream-colored candles shone from iron candelabras. The aisle was bedecked with columns of milky roses and lush greenery at every pew. Outside, near the entrance, were sumptuous lavender hydrangeas. But despite the elegance, there was little pomp at the ceremony.

Fox´s best friend and college buddy, King Rice, was best man. Williams´s younger brother and only sibling, Christopher, served as her "maid of honor." The couple´s children all played a role: her daughters, Jillian, 11, Melanie, 13, as bridesmaids, also in Vera Wang; her son, Devin, 7, as ring bearer; and Fox´s son, Kyle, 6, who stood at his father´s side as a groomsman.

During their courtship Fox had written Williams a poem titled "Today." Shortly before the wedding - which she planned with the help of Barbara Esses, in five short weeks - Williams faxed the verses to a good friend, musical director Rob Mathes, who put them to music. She recalls the scene: "After we´d gone through half the ceremony, Deacon Tom [Morrette] announces, ´Vanessa has a special gift for Rick.´ And Rob comes out, sits down at the piano and sings a song inspired by Rick´s words." Rick started to cry. At the reception, CDs that Vanessa had made of the song were given to guests as favors.

The reception, at the St. Regis Hotel, was resonant with Caribbean accents. There was a steel-drum band and authentic Bahamian food - including a conch salad based on a recipe of Rick´s aunt Beryl. So the kids wouldn´t feel "stressed by too much formality," there were relaxed touches at some of the tables - like clear vases, lined with pink grapefruit slices and filled with bright pink and pale purple roses, sitting on a vibrant pink-and-green-plaid tablecloths. Other tables held huge formal arrangements of hydrangeas, lilies and roses in every imaginable pastel shade.

The couple´s song, Kenny Lattimore´s "All My Tomorrows," had played a part in their most romantic, emotional moments - but always via compact disc. No one was more astounded than Vanessa when Lattimore himself walked into the lavishly decorated ballroom and serenaded them for their first dance as husband and wife. "Just the look on her face," Rick says, "was worth tracking Kenny down."

The child-friendly reception had three cakes and a lollipop maker. "It was like he was blowing glass," says Fox. "The kids were amazed."

The wedding and the reception were very much a family affair - and were extremely kid-friendly. The children were delighted by the fact that at the St. Regis, wedding cakes - there were three of them - are customarily cut with a saber. "The boys," says Williams, "couldn´t wait to touch that."

The party rocked late into the evening, with a friend´s expert help. "DJ Clark Kent is a record executive now," says Willams, "but he DJs parties on very special occasions. He played everything from the Jackson Five to Slick Rick to old funky soul to traditional ballads. It was perfect."

Today Fox carries many of the wedding pictures on the road with him. "The photos take me to a place," he says, "where I had complete and utter joy."