A Cliffside California Wedding Featuring Bow Wow and Soulja Boy Performances

BR, the financial director at Rock Paper Details Events, met WackStar, an entrepreneur and real estate investor, at a video shoot in Los Angeles in 2004. Fast forward to January 2021 as the pair celebrated BR’s birthday at home with her closest family members. “After the entire family sang happy birthday, Wack began making a speech and the next thing I knew he was down on one knee with the most beautiful diamond. I was completely shocked,” BR says. “It was the sweetest moment and I am happy that my family was there to witness the moment.”

BR and WackStar invited 100 guests to join them at Dragonpoint Villa in Fallbrook, California for their August 7, 2021 wedding. The couple stayed in the private villa throughout the weekend for the festivities. “We loved the view and how intimate and beautiful it was,” BR says. Before arriving at the venue, the couple went on a pre-honeymoon in Hawaii the week before the wedding to relax and calm any pre-wedding jitters.

With a ‘modern romance’ theme in mind, the couple enlisted help from the bride’s mother, Duana, who is the owner of Rock Paper Details Events, and her sister, Erin, who is the in-house florist. “I knew I was in the best hands when it came to the planning and design of our wedding,” BR says, “I wanted to be completely surprised with the final overall look.” BR told her mom and sister that she envisioned modern black décor accents and white florals (especially her favorite flower, tulips), and let them take it from there.

As the granddaughter of the late musician Ray Charles, BR also made sure to have music play an important part of the wedding. The day's decor elements were even inspired by the Jay-Z and Beyoncé lyric “Down to ride ‘til the very end.” Read on to see all the wedding day details as captured by Shauntelle Sposto of Sposto Photography.

The couple’s black-and-white invitation suite featured a mix of fonts and a printed envelope liner. The black envelopes were finished with a custom wax seal. “We were also lucky enough to incorporate my grandfather Ray Charles’ postage stamp on our invitation envelopes,” BR says, “A nice personal addition.”

BR went wedding dress shopping with her mom and her sister. “I think keeping your shopping circle small is very good advice,” she says. The last dress she tried on was an off-the-shoulder fully beaded silk organza Cocomelody gown. “It was completely different from anything I would normally wear,” she says, “I totally felt like a princess!”

She accessorized her bridal look with Jimmy Choo shoes and jewelry from a personal friend, Gabe Arik, from Happy Jewelers. For beauty, the bride chose an oval shaped manicure with white details and wore her favorite fragrance, Daisy by Marc Jacobs. BR’s bouquet featured all-white tulips and lisianthus.

BR’s sister Erin was her maid of honor, and the couple’s toddler daughter, Gia, was also included in the wedding party. During the ceremony, Gia made her grand entrance in a custom remote-controlled car (dad had the remote!) to her favorite song, “Baby Shark.” “It was our only chance of cooperation,” BR shares. “Truly one of our favorite moments!”

The groom’s custom tuxedo was created by Sharon Williams of Oscar Odelia Custom Tailors—the same tailor that made the bride’s grandfather Ray Charles’ performance tuxedos. WackStar finished his look with Christian Louboutin shoes and a Rolex watch from Happy Jewelers. Actor and entertainer Shad Moss “Bow Wow” was the best man. The entire wedding party dressed in black to give off an old Hollywood glamour aesthetic.

The couple’s cliffside ceremony featured an altar of three iron structures covered in Italian ruscus, tulips, smilax, huckleberry, roses, and lisianthus. Guests were seated in white chairs along both sides of the petal-covered aisle. 

BR and WackStar chose to skip a first look. “We really wanted to keep things a bit traditional and wanted to save the first look for the wedding procession,” BR says. The groom and best man entered the wedding ceremony in a red 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible to Luther Vandross’ “Here and Now.” BR was accompanied by her father, Ray Charles Jr., as she walked down the aisle to “Best Part” by Daniel Caesar featuring H.E.R.

The couple’s ceremony was officiated by a close family friend and designer from Los Angeles, Gavin Mathieu of Supervsn. “The person who you choose to marry you should be someone who really knows the two of you very well,” BR says, “It helps when they are speaking from the heart about who you are as a couple.” The pair exchanged traditional vows although omitted the word "obey" to modernize them. Once pronounced husband and wife, they recessed down the aisle to “Essence” by WizKid featuring Justin Bieber and Tems.

As guests enjoyed cocktail hour and magic tricks from Magic and Cocktails, BR and WackStar briefly stepped away with their photographer, Shauntelle Sposto of Sposto Photography to capture golden hour portraits throughout the grounds.

The bride’s mom designed the escort card display, which featured black and white die cut cards in the shape of a ‘64 Chevy. Each guest’s name was on the windshield and the corresponding table number was on the bumper. The display had the words “Ride or Die” as a nod to Jay-Z and Beyoncé.

The reception took place in the same location as the ceremony, where wooden tables were topped with embroidered ivory table runners. Ivory china was paired with black flatware and goblets. The centerpieces featured concrete vessels filled with Italian ruscus, smilax, huckleberry, roses, lisianthus, and white tulips.

Guests dined on Southern soul food by Chef Yealang Smith at the reception. The couple also made sure their signature drinks featured black-owned alcohol brands. “It was extremely important to us to highlight luxury BIPOC vendors,” BR explains. “I wanted to bring those vendors in any area that I could.” 

BR and WackStar’s sweetheart table was set up underneath the ceremony arch with even more white florals and greenery embellishing the table.

To kick off the evening, Soulja Boy and Bow Wow gave impromptu performances for the newlyweds and their guests. After, a DJ kept guests moving on the dance floor the rest of the night.

After dancing the night away, guests were given handmade candles to take home from BR’s sister’s brand, Frolic & Sage Candles with the Jay-Z and Beyoncé lyric “Down to ride ‘til the very end” printed on them.

To couples currently planning a wedding, BR and WackStar advise, “Keep it intimate. Invite only close family and friends and make sure that the wedding reflects who you are as a couple.”