Actor Omar Dorsey Marries Crystle Roberson in Oceanfront Wedding: 'A Sacred Dream Come True' (Exclusive)
Omar Dorsey is married!
On November 5th, the The Blind Side and Selma actor, 47, tied the knot with filmmaker Crystle Roberson at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica, California in front of 80 of their closest family and friends.
"Getting married means having a partner to navigate through life. Being with my best friend everyday, forever," Dorsey told PEOPLE exclusively ahead of the wedding. "Being family. Taking care of one another. Hanging tight through the highs and eventual lows that will inevitably come. All the while knowing that we can get through anything together."
"Our wedding is a sacred dream come true," he added.
For the wedding, the couple used pearl and gold as the color scheme. They explained gold represents the sunrise, which is a metaphor for their new beginning together. "The hope that our marriage will be as everlasting and faithful as the rising sun," Dorsey said.
"Pearl symbolizes the purity of our love and the organic way that our love was formed," he added.
When planning the ceremony with Slomique Hawrylo, their planner and designer, Dorsey and Roberson envisioned something small, intimate and sacred along the ocean. Among those in attendance were Anthony Mackie, Ava DuVernay and Tasha Smith.
"We love the symbolism of the ocean and how it feels like eternity," Dorsey said. "We wanted to wed by the ocean but also wanted to be inside with more controllable elements. Casa Del Mar has a beautiful ballroom with ocean views that was perfect for us."
In addition to having their own officiant — Dorsey's cousin, Pastor Eric Lee — the couple wanted to incorporate a circular seating arrangement because of the shapes symbolic meaning of connection and eternity.
The couple also led a traditional Cord of Three Strands ceremony to commemorate the joining of two people by God into matrimony.
"We are both very proud of each other. We both came up against all odds professionally and we are both cheerleaders for each other," Dorsey shared. "We also admire the hard work and passion each other show in everything they do. Work, friendship, play… everything."
During the ceremony, Roberson walked down the aisle to her favorite song "As” by Stevie Wonder. She wore a custom wedding dress designed by Grace Pei of Jinza Bridal with a detachable train for dancing and easy beach photos.
"Grace automatically knew and understood the intention for the pearl embellished dress which was simplicity, elegance and sacred modesty," Roberson said.
"I’m looking forward to that dress!" Dorsey added ahead of the wedding day. "Crystle makes everything she wears look fabulous, so for her to be walking down that aisle in something specially made for her has me anticipating with every fiber of my being!"
At the altar Dorsey and Roberson exchanged handwritten vows. "With a writer marrying a thespian you know the vows have to be hand written," Dorsey said. "And the thespian will probably be performing it like a Shakespearean monologue. Complete with props and music."
The ceremony was followed by a family celebration completed with a five-course dinner with items like caviar, sea bass, beef short rib and eggplant. The newlyweds also served a white chocolate, pearl and gold cake from Sweet Traders.
During the celebration, Grammy nominated singer Curtis Harding sang one of the couple’s favorite songs, “I Won’t Let You Down” from his album If Words Were Flowers. Later in the evening, the couple shared their first dance to "Something" by The Beatles.
"In the pandemic we discovered we were two of the biggest Beatles fans alive," Dorsey said. "We just sat up one night and sang Beatles songs until the break of dawn. And both agreed that 'Something' is one of the most simplistically beautiful works ever written about love."
Dorsey and Roberson met at the Toronto Film Festival where Dorsey was premiering his new film Harriet. The two quickly became friends after they discovered their common love for Gordon Parks and the Atlanta Falcons.
On October 3, 2022, after Dorsey's original proposal plans were thwarted by an emergency at Roberson's job, he acted with spontaneity and popped the question right away that day. He proposed with a one-of-a-kind ring from Oscar Bayeh from Oscar’s Design jewelry in downtown LA.
"We are both human jukeboxes who will loudly sing any random song that comes to mind at any given moment," Dorsey said. "Most likely the other joins in on the randomness and completes it with a dance. We have a ball together just being ourselves. We want to do this until we are two elderly dancing jukeboxes."
Following the intimate wedding, the couple is looking forward to hosting another, bigger reception on New Year's Eve. This reception will feature all new wedding attire and looks.
"D Nice will be DJing a set at the New Year's Eve wedding celebration," Roberson added. "As we all know he’s one of the most beloved DJs spinning! And he’s Omar’s brother from another mother."
Once all the festivities have calmed down the couple is excited to set off on their honeymoon. While they've had to postpone their original honeymoon in Egypt due to the Israel-Hamas war, they're looking into finding other places to travel to next year.
"Our next chapter will be a true union personally and professionally. We are developing creative projects together as well as other entrepreneurial ventures," Roberson added.
https://people.com/actor-omar-dorsey-marries-crystle-roberson-in-ocean-front-wedding-exclusive-8384338