RHOA alum Porsha Williams and businessman Simon Guobadia are married! On Friday, the pair had a traditional Nigerian native law and custom ceremony in Atlanta at the Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta in front of 250 guests. The couple will wed again in a second American ceremony this Saturday, November 26th.
Ahead of the nuptials, Williams told People, “I’m ridiculously excited. I’m not nervous. I know I’m marrying the love of my life, and it will solidify our relationship and family bond. I’m calm and excited.”
Guobadia expressed his nervousness to the publication before walking down the aisle, “When you say you’re a little nervous, and you’re about to walk down the aisle, people are thinking, ‘Uh-oh,'” he said. “But my nervousness comes from the family members and friends I haven’t seen in a long time coming into Atlanta!”
According to People, Williams had three outfit changes on the day of the Nigerian wedding. For the ceremony, she wore a red gown by designer Lakimmy, customary for an Edo bride, as Guobadia is from Benin City in the Edo State of Nigeria. She also wore an okuku, a headpiece with Benin coral beads.
The couple wanted to keep Guobadia’s culture top of mind throughout the wedding. Williams said, “I want them to feel like they have taken a flight and landed in Benin. The whole room should be transformed with beautiful colors of browns and rose golds and tans and creams. It should be beautiful and give you that authentic African feel.”
Since announcing their engagement in May 2021 after one month of dating, Williams knew she wanted to honor Guobadia’s culture at their wedding. “I looked up different things about an Edo bride, about the Benin culture, about their ceremonies, just so that I would not be totally green,” she said. “I wanted to make sure that I was as respectful as possible because I didn’t want to not do anything that wasn’t within tradition, within their culture. So I had to be very, very serious, and I was very adamant that each detail was going to be authentic to their culture. I learned a lot.” she said to People.
For their Friday wedding, guests were asked to turn off all electronics, as Wiliams and Guobadia wanted the moment to be special, intimate, and private. “It’s important for me because I’ve had another big event in my life before, and all I remember seeing was flashing lights and pictures being taken every single minute,” said Williams, who was previously married. “I just really want people to be in the moment. This guest list, everyone there was handpicked by both of us. These are people that we care about, people that we love, people who have supported us. We really want them to feel the energy and for us to celebrate our love together.” she told People.
It’s not surprising that their guest list includes Bravo celebrities and Atlanta entertainment elite like comedian Rickey Smiley, Married to Medicine’s Quad Webb, Basketball Wives‘ Jennifer Williams, and musician T.I. and wife Tiny Harris. Fellow Housewives stars, including Kim Zolciak-Biermann, Monyetta Shaw, Kandi Burruss, Drew Sidora, and Cynthia Bailey, were invited.
Although the weddings are in Atlanta, the couple will have a global presence. Williams mentioned that Guobadia has people coming in for the wedding from “London, Nigeria, South America…everywhere!”
Tonight, the couple will begin their American wedding ceremony at a church in Atlanta with 350 guests, with an after-party. Williams is excited about married life again and to officially call Guobadia her husband, not fiancé. “It’s just going to be like, ‘My husband, my husband, my husband,'” she said with a laugh. “I’m going to irritate everyone! It’s our last marriage, okay? We belong together. That is it. It’s a blessing to be able to find your person. It doesn’t happen often” she said.
We look forward to today’s wedding and a bright future for the newlyweds. See the beautiful couple over the years.
