ESPN entertainment journalist Kelley Carter got married this weekend in a glamorous affair to her soul mate Moreno McCalpin in Los Angeles.
“I’m so glad I waited for the exact right partner to do life with,” the Emmy-winning journalist says of husband Moreno McCalpin
The couple chose them for the Huntington Beach ceremony, a nod to Carter’s lifelong career as an entertainment journalist and a nod to “Vintage Black Hollywood glam.”
Their 200 guests could “step inside” Carter’s world for a night and “feel like they’re attending a once-in-a-lifetime vintage Hollywood Governor’s ball.”
She added that she “wanted to pay homage to all of the classic, underappreciated Black actors and entertainers who never quite got the mainstream success and adoration they should have.”
“Our hope is that our wedding will make everyone feel hand selected and wowed by our attention to detail in every aspect of our wedding, including even our friends who work in the industry and regularly attend fabulous Hollywood affairs,” Carter added.
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The wedding on July 14 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel featured a star-studded guest list and bridal party. Longtime friend and journalist Jemele Hill was the matron of honor, while actresses Gabrielle Union and Deborah Joy Winans were both bridesmaids.
Also in attendance were comedian John Mulaney and his partner Olivia Munn.
Carter initially planned to wear a champagne-colored gown from Spanish brand Pronovias, but a message from couture designer Katerina Bocci just three months before the wedding date changed her plans.
“Even though I had no idea what it would ultimately look like until about four weeks before our wedding, I trusted her completely,” she says of Bocci’s corset creation, she described it as a “dress made for a princess.”
“And it all worked out because the dress I originally got is the perfect party gown!”
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Carter wore Christian Louboutin dégradé sandals for the ceremony, and for the reception, she wore “custom, blinged-out Converse Chucks.”
Music for the event featured a string quartet playing music by Drake, Beyoncé, Lizzo, and others. While Carter glided down the aisle to an appearance by R&B singer Chanté Moore, who sang a special arrangement of her track “Love’s Taken Over.”
Guests left the event with a copy of the coffee table, photography book Black Hollywood: Reimagining Iconic Movie Moments.
As for how the couple met, Carter admits, “I slid into Moreno’s DMs,” she added that it means “everything” to marry him “at this point in my life.”
“Too often women are pressured into marrying for a number of reasons, and I’m so glad I waited for the exact right, supportive partner to do life with,” Carter explained.
“We both are in our forties and didn’t rush to be with someone just to be with someone,” she says. “We both wanted to marry our soulmates, and we really waited to find the exact right match for one another. Our partnership is truly a testament to not giving up, having both faith and patience and holding out for the real thing.”
Carolyn and William Carter, the bride’s parents, walked with the wedding party after the ceremony
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Photo Credit: Getty