Former
Dancing with the Stars finalist
Laila Ali walked down the aisle on and wed retired NFL star Curtis Conway on Sunday, Ali's representative told
People magazine.
The intimate and colorful ceremony was held in Los Angeles, with 200 guests bearing witness to the couple's union. Ali's father, legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, and her mother, actress Veronica Porsche Anderson, were among the guests, as well as Ali's older sister, Hana Ali, who served as a bridesmaid. Members of Conway's family were also present at the ceremony. His twin sons, 12-year-olds Kelton and Cameron, served as the ring bearers, while his 8-year-old daughter, Leilani, served as the flower girl.
Laila Ali, 29, and Conway, 36, first met in 2005 when the latter hosted a small gathering at his house, which Ali attended with a friend. Conway popped the question last Thanksgiving, and in April,
People reported about the couple's engagement.
The couple planned the wedding while Laila Ali was performing on the fourth season of
Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with professional dancer
Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and ultimately finished in third place. A month before the season finale, she told
People that she did not want to wear a “big poufy dress” on her wedding day. She instead went with an elegant champagne-colored silk charmeuse strapless mermaid gown by Amy Michelson.
"Laila's approach to the wedding was simple but elegant," wedding coordinator Juliet Ryan informed
People. "There were no lions and tigers and bears. It was about the love."
This is the second marriage for the former
Dancing with the Stars finalist. In August 2000, she wed Johnny “Yahya” McClain, whom she met at her father's 57th birthday party. McClain then served as Ali's manager until their divorce in late 2005. Shortly after their divorce, tabloids speculated that Ali was having a lesbian affair with artist Queen Latifah. Ali as well as her family denied the rumors. Her other sister, Maryum “May May” Ali, told the EUR that Ali “has the kind of personality that if she were a lesbian, she would be completely out in the open with it. She wouldn't hide it."
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: realitytvworld.com, People, AOL Black Voices
(Image Courtesy of People)