• Yvette Nicole Brown married actor Anthony Davis on December 14 in an “intimate, stylish and fun” ceremony in Los Angeles.
• The couple began a friendship after meeting in their twenties. They lost touch for a few years before meeting again in 2021 and falling in love.
• The 53-year-old bride wants people to learn from her romance that it’s “never too late” to find love.

Yvette Nicole Brown and Anthony Davis have tied the knot!

The Community The 53-year-old star married Davis in an “intimate, stylish and fun” wedding attended by 200 guests on Saturday, December 14, at the Maybourne Beverly Hills in Los Angeles.

Brown tells PEOPLE she had no qualms about saying “I do.”

“I had no nerves when it came to marrying this man,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively. “He is the right one for me. Absolutely.”

The actress said she was most looking forward to the “special” moment when she walked down the aisle with her brother Paris, who was filling in for their father, who has Alzheimer’s. Her mother died in 2021 and Davis’ parents are no longer living, making the occasion bittersweet for the couple.

“So my brother and his sister stepped in,” Brown continues, “so it was nice to walk down the aisle to family and with family, even if it’s not the family we wanted in those roles. “

But in an emotional moment, Davis finally surprised his bride by arranging for her father to be at the wedding after consulting with his care facility.

She was also looking forward to “all of our friend groups and sides of our families” meeting for the first time. “The merging of these families is what I’m really excited about,” she notes.

Brown walked to the altar to the music of violinist Alan Price. Surrounding her and in her hands were blush flowers from Eddie Zaratsian and Tic-Tock Couture Florals. Her hair was styled by Gabrielle Corney and accessorized with a headpiece by Maria Elena. Her makeup was done by Beth Carter, who used all Danessa Myricks beauty products and Ardell lashes. She was assisted by Markeisha Similton.

The first time she tried on a wedding dress was actually for an episode of Nickelodeon Drake & Joshin which her character Helen Dubois marries.

“I cried when I saw myself in the wedding dress, and the wardrobe lady thought I was crying because I looked so beautiful,” Brown recalls. “First of all, I’m not the type of person to cry because I look beautiful… I cried because I thought, ‘This might be the only time I wear a wedding dress.’ And to realize that I was wrong all these years later and that I also get to have my bridal moment and my happy ending is amazing.”

For her walk down the aisle, the actress chose a simple mermaid-style dress designed by Ines Di Santo. Standing next to her wedding dress coordinator, Nayri Kalayjian, Brown happened to walk past the dress as she completed her fitting at Lovella Bridal in Glendale, California.

“I saw Ines’ dress sticking out of a clothes rack and I just put my hand on it and pulled it out. I said, ‘What about this one? Can I try this on?’ And it was absolutely the dress,” says Brown, who requested the dress be customized with two butterflies in honor of her and Davis’ mothers. “So it was found almost on a whim. It was just meant to be.”

Davis, who wore a tailored brown suit from Vinny’s Custom Clothes and cufflinks with a handwritten message from the bride, says his relationship with Brown was meant to be that way, too.

“If you can imagine having a wing in your life and trying to fly with one wing, you’re kind of going around in circles,” he tells PEOPLE. “Now that I have found my other wing, I can fly straight and land where I need to land.”

While Davis has a natural flair for words, Brown has been more reserved when it comes to proclaiming their love in front of everyone.

“The idea that all of our friends and family would be there and the spotlight would be on us makes me nervous,” she says of her celebration, which was directed by Love McPherson and produced by celebrity wedding planner William P. Miller.

“I was on set earlier. I know that when you say ‘action’ everyone gets quiet and people talk and in this case you are performing in front of a lot of people. But it’s a character, isn’t it?” she continues. “The idea of ​​me not performing, these are real words and real emotions, and we’re really standing in front of everyone we know and love, made me nervous.”

During the cocktail hour, guests enjoyed signature cocktails before dining on a dinner of sea bass and ribs to the performance of harpist Mariea Antoinette. Later, for dessert, guests enjoyed a four-tier lemon fantasy strawberry shortcake decorated with fresh flowers from Cake Studio LA.

At the reception, DJ Kacy “Mister Wilson” Wilson played music while everyone danced and playfully took photos in a 360-degree photo booth.

Brown and Davis danced to a serenade by their friend, Tony and Grammy winner Leslie Odom Jr., performed by Dr. Richard Schectman was accompanied. They were also surprised by legendary four-time Grammy winner Deniece Williams, who sang her hit song “Free.”

The couple began a friendship after meeting in their twenties. They lost touch for a few years but then got back together in 2021 when Davis got in touch after Brown’s mother died, she explained as a guest co-host The view last December.

On the show, she detailed Davis’ sweet marriage proposal, which came during a visit to her hometown in Ohio, where her alma mater, Warrensville Heights High School, recently named its auditorium after her.

“We were celebrating, and then (Davis) gave me a (lottery scratch-off ticket) and the scratch-off ticket said, ‘Will you marry me?’ She said jokingly, “I thought I was going to win some money, and I won a man!”

This is the second marriage for Davis and the first for Brown.

Brown hopes to have the opportunity to work with her now husband again in the future. Otherwise, she can’t wait to start the next chapter.

“I want to be with this man for 30 years…continue to love him, put him first and be his best friend,” she says. “And again: Our lives merge together. And being Mrs. Davis is pretty exciting.”

Brown, who fell in love at 51 and got engaged at 52, wants people to take one thing away from her love story: “It’s never too late.”

“I’m not someone who really likes a lot of attention, and I realized that there was a way to have a wedding that made me more about other people, in the sense that because I’m a certain age and “I never thought about it. It would happen for me that my wedding could be an inspiring moment,” she says. “I think it’s important to make sure that God has blessed me in a way that reminds people that he is still in the blessing business and can fully bless them too.”

She continued, “Instead of ‘Come everyone and look at me,’ it’s ‘Come everyone and look at love.’ Everyone come and see what God can do. Everyone come and see the fact that miracles can still happen.’ ”

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Brown advises single women not to settle and to remain patient until they find the right person. “If it’s the right person, there’s no chaos. There is no confusion,” she says.

In previous relationships, she always had to decipher the meaning behind what men said and did. “I always asked people, my friends, what they thought about something the guy did,” he said Disillusioned Star says, remembering having to take screenshots of messages so her friends could decipher them. But she never had to play games or “go to the group chat” with Davis.

“There were no questions. There was no confusion,” she says of her now-husband. “Tony said what he meant. Whenever Tony said he would be somewhere, he showed up. If he said he would call me, he called me. When I texted him, he texted me right back.”

“When someone is right for you, when someone is in love with you, when someone likes you, they come to you in a way that makes you feel safe and at peace with it,” Brown says.

Your relationship advice? “Wait until you feel that peace. Wait until there is no more chaos and confusion.”

PEOPLE and BRIDES team up to share the biggest moments from Yvette Nicole Brown and Anthony Davis’ dream wedding day. Stay tuned to People.com and Brides.com for all the exclusive photos and details.

Additional credits:

Hair: Indique Hair @iloveindique

Bridal Attendant: Jennifer Clymer @jenclymer

Reception dress: Arlinda McIntosh @funkingafter50 and Sofistafunk @sofistafunktheskirtco

Groom’s makeup: Sarah Hall @sarahbbeauty

Celebrity Bridal Stylist: Roni Burks @roniburks

Videographer: Amber Fouse Shot That @amaizingvisions

Sound engineer: Ahmad Dawson @iamrezon

Photo Experience: Happy Times Event Co. @shophappytimes

Graphic/Invitation: Monica Comeaux @mjcmx

Wine with dinner: John Hinshawe, Blackbirdvineyards.com @blackbirdvieyards

Advertising: Marcia Hurwitz and Kita Williams

Stationery: Superior South Bay @superiorsouthbay and Special Letters @specialletters