Anthony Anderson Officiated His Best Friend’s Wedding

As the person who guides the ceremony, the officiant plays one of the most important roles in a wedding—other than the couple, of course. When Anthony Anderson’s best friend, AJ Williams, and her now-husband, John Henson, exchanged vows in Port Antoni, Jamaica, in March of 2023, the Black-ish star did the honors. “Anthony asked us if we wanted him to marry us,” Williams tells People. “We said ‘yes’ with an astounding ‘yes!’” The actor told the publication that it was his first time officiating someone’s nuptials. “[I’m] glad that my first experience was among friends,” he shares.

Although the opportunity was largely positive, not everything went according to plan. The Law & Order star revealed that the bride’s sister forgot to bring the rings up the altar. “It's not every day that the bride's ring [is] not with the bride as she's getting married,” Anderson says. "Unfortunately, the ring was not found, so a caring friend gave her ring as a temporary placeholder until the ring was found. Let's just say that [it] has new meaning to ‘something borrowed, something new!’” The actor also admitted that he wasn’t sure he carried out his officiant responsibilities correctly. “Between you and I, I’m not sure if this whole thing is totally legit,” he jokes. “We’ll just let the courts decided if it ever comes to that!”

Since the bride owns an event company, she met Anderson after they started working on gatherings together in 2018. Since then, they’ve formed a strong bond. Over the past five years, the actor has also been able to experience Williams’ relationship with Henson deepen and develop. “My wish for AJ and John is that they continue to love one another the way that they have for the last 14 years,” he expresses. “With a relationship like theirs, marriage is easy.”

For her big day, the bride wore a strapless Galia Lahav ball gown with floral appliqués, which was the inspiration behind her aesthetic. "We had custom tables that had the floral design incorporated," she shares. "I wanted an elegant and glamorous design with fashion infused into the theme of the event." The couple painted their nuptials in a black, white, and gold color scheme. Because Williams plans events for a living (she owns AJ Events), she said finding time to orchestrate her own wedding was difficult because she usually puts her clients’ needs first. By setting deadlines for herself, she was able to pull out all the stops. “I loved every minute of it, and the best part was having my event industry friends behind me to support me,” she says. “They are the best.”

According to the couple’s wedding website, they planned an entire weekend worth of events. They kicked off the celebration on March 1, 2023, with a tropical welcome party on the beach. The next day was reserved for the ceremony, followed by a night of dancing at the reception. On March 3, the bride and groom hosted a beach day with some surprises and concluded the relaxing day with a dinner and a party at GeeJam at the Bush Bar. The weekend ended with a farewell brunch and an excursion.