Yvette Nicole Brown Marries Anthony Davis at 53: ‘My Happy Ending’ (Exclusive)

• Yvette Nicole Brown married actor Anthony Davis on December 14 in an “intimate, classy and fun” ceremony in Los Angeles.
• The pair began as friends after meeting in their twenties. They lost touch for a few years before reconnecting in 2021 and falling in love.
• The 53-year-old bride wants people to learn from her romance that “it’s never too late” to find love.

Yvette Nicole Brown and Anthony Davis have tied the knot!

The Community star, 53, married Davis in an “intimate, classy and fun” wedding surrounded by 200 guests on Saturday, Dec. 14, at Maybourne Beverly Hills in Los Angeles.

Brown tells PEOPLE she didn’t hesitate to say “I do.”

“I had zero nerves when it came to marrying this man,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively. “He’s the one for me. Absolutely.”

The actress says she was most looking forward to the “special” moment when she walked down the aisle with her brother Paris, who stepped in for her father, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Her mother died in 2021 and Davis’ parents are no longer alive, making the occasion bittersweet for the couple.

“So my brother and his sister were in,” Brown continues, “so it was nice to walk down the aisle toward the family and with the family, even though it’s not the family we wish we had in those roles.”

But in an emotional moment, Davis ended up surprising his bride by arranging for her father to attend the wedding after coordinating with his care center.

She was also excited to have “all our friend groups and sides of our families” meet for the first time. “The merging of these families is what I’m super, super excited about,” she notes.

Brown made his way to the altar to music played by violinist Alan Price. Around her and in her hands were blushing flowers Eddie Zaratsian and Tic-Tock Couture flowers. Her hair was styled off Gabrielle Corney and equipped with a Maria Elena main piece. Her makeup done by Beth Carterthat used everyone Danessa Myrick’s beauty products and Ardell lashes. She was assisted by Markeisha Similton.

The first time she tried on a wedding dress was actually on an episode of Nickelodeon’s Drake and Joshwhere her character, Helen Dubois, getting married.

“I cried when I saw myself in the wedding dress, and the wardrobe woman thought I was crying because I looked so beautiful,” Brown recalls. “First of all, I’m not the kind of girl who cries because I look pretty… I cried because I thought, ‘This might be the only time I’m in a wedding dress.'” And to realize that I all these years later were wrong and that I also get my bridal moment and my happy ending, it’s amazing.”

For her walk down the aisle, the actress chose a modest mermaid-style gown designed by Ines Di Santo. Together with her wedding dress coordinator, Nayri KalayjianBrown happened to pass by the dress as she unpacked her fitting at Lovella Bride in Glendale, California.

“I saw the dress of Ines kind of peeking out of a rack, and I just put my hand on it and pulled it out. I said, ‘How about this? Can I try this on?’ And it definitely was the dress,” says Brown, who requested that the dress be customized with two butterflies to honor her and Davis’ mothers. “So it was found just on a whim, almost. It was just meant to be.”

Davis, who wore a custom brown suit from Vinny’s custom clothing and cuff links inscribed with a handwritten message from the bride saying his relationship with Brown was also meant to be.

“If you can imagine having a wing in your life and trying to fly with a wing, you kind of go in circles,” he tells PEOPLE. “Now that I’ve found my second wing, I can fly straight and land where I need to land.”

While Davis obviously has a way with words, Brown was more shy about proclaiming his love in front of everyone.

“The idea that all our friends and family would be there and the spotlight would be on us, I’m nervous,” she says of their celebration, which was officiated by Love McPherson and produced by famous wedding planner William P. Miller.

“I’ve been on set before. I know when they say ‘action’ everyone goes quiet and people talk and in that case you’re performing in front of a lot of people. But it’s a character, isn’t it?” she continues. “So the thought that I’m not performing, these are real words and real feelings, and we’re really in front of everyone we know and love, (it made me) nervous.”

During the cocktail hour, guests enjoyed signature cocktailsbefore a dinner of sea bass and short rib, like a harp player Marie Antoinette performed. Later, guests enjoyed a four-tier lemon fantasy and strawberry shortcake garnished with fresh flowers Cake Studio LA for dessert.

At the reception, DJ Kacy “Mister Wilson” Wilson spun tunes while everyone danced and playfully took pictures a 360-degree photo booth.

Brown and Davis danced to a serenade by their friend Tony and Grammy winner Leslie Odom Jr., who was accompanied by Dr. Richard Schectman. They were also surprised by legendary four-time Grammy winner Deniece Williams, who sang her hit “Free.”

The pair began as friends after meeting in their twenties. They lost touch for a few years but reconnected in 2021 when Davis reached out after Brown’s mother died, she explained while co-hosting The view December last year.

On the show, she described Davis’ sweet proposal, which took place while they were visiting her hometown in Ohio, where her alma mater, Warrensville Heights High School, had recently named its auditorium after her.

“We were celebrating and then (Davis) gave me a (lottery scratch card) and the scratch card said, ‘Will you marry me?’ ” she said, joking: “I thought I was going to win some money and I won a man!”

This marks the second marriage for Davis and the first for Brown.

Brown hopes to have the opportunity to work with her now husband again in the future. Otherwise, she can’t wait to begin the next chapter.

“I want to be with this man for 30 years … continue to love him and put him first and be his best friend,” she says. “And again, just melding our lives together. And being Mrs. Davis is pretty exciting.”

Brown, who fell in love at 51 and got engaged at 52, wants people to take one thing away from her love story: “It’s never too late.”

“I’m not someone who really likes a lot of attention, and I realized that there’s a way that I could have a wedding where I made it more about other people, in the sense that because I’m of a certain age and I never thought it would happen to me, my wedding can be an inspiring moment,” she says. “I feel it’s important to make sure that the way God has blessed me, that I remind people that he’s still in the business of blessing and can bless them completely as well.”

She continued: “Instead of ‘everybody come and look at me’ it’s like, ‘everybody come and look at love. Everybody come and look at what God can do. Everybody come and look at the fact that miracles still can happen.’ ”

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Brown advises single women not to settle and to be patient until they find the right person. “When it’s the right person, there’s no chaos. There’s no confusion,” she says.

In previous relationships, she always had to decipher the meaning behind what guys said and did. “I was always asking people, my friends, what they thought about something the guy did,” he said Disenchanted says the star, remembering that she had to screenshot messages that her friends could decode. But she never had to play games or “take it to the group chat” with Davis.

“There were no questions. There was no confusion,” she says of her now husband. “Tony said what he meant. If Tony said he wanted to be somewhere, he showed up. If he said he wanted to call me, he called me. If I texted him, he texted me immediately.”

“When someone’s right for you, when someone’s into you, when someone likes you, they come after you in that way where you feel safe, you’re at peace about it,” Brown says.

Her relationship advice? “Wait until you feel that peace. Wait until there is no chaos and confusion.”

PEOPLE and BRIDES are teaming up to share all the biggest moments from Yvette Nicole Brown and Anthony Davis’ dream wedding day. Stay tuned to People.com and Brides.com for all the exclusive photos and details.

Additional credits:

Hair: Indique Hair @iloveindique

Bride Attendant: Jennifer Clymer @jenclymer

Reception Dress: Arlinda McIntosh @funkingafter50 and Sofistafunk @sofistafunktheskirtco

Groom’s makeup: Sarah Hall @sarahbbeauty

Celebrity Bridal Stylist: Roni Burks @roniburks

Videographer: Amber Fouse Shot That @amaizingvisions

Sound engineer: Ahmad Dawson @iamrezon

Photo Experience: Happy Times Event Co @sohappytimes

Graphics/invitation: Monica Comeaux @mjcmx

Dinner wine: John Hinshawe, Blackbirdvineyards.com @blackbirdvieyards

Commentary: Marcia Hurwitz and Kita Williams

Stationery: Superior South Bay @superiorsouthbay and Special Letters @specialletters