Tika Sumpter is finally giving up the details about her Mexican wedding getaway. The actress wed her The Haves and Have Nots co-star Nicholas James on May 14, 2022, after meeting back in 2015 on the set of the Tyler Perry series. In an exclusive interview with Brides for their third digital issue of the year, Tika gave a play-by-play of her adults-only destination wedding. The couple settled on getting married in the popular tourist city, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico after reflecting on the beautiful experience they had visiting the beach town in 2016 during their babymoon. The couple shares a 5-year-old daughter named Ella.
“It was so beautiful, and it wasn’t too far away from California, so it was an easy trip,” Tika recalled. Once they finalized the location, it was time to find the venue. They found a local wedding planner who helped them secure Chileno Bay Resorts & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection for their wedding space.
The wedding festivities kicked off on Friday, May 13 with the welcome party. Guests mixed and mingled amongst each other as well with the bride and groom. The welcome party was also the opportunity for family and friends to give speeches. Tika reflected on Tyler Perry as well as her brother’s speeches. “We're great friends, so hearing both ends of the stories—when things were bad and things were good and everything in between—was so great,” Tika said recalling Tyler’s speech.
For her wedding ceremony, the Ride Along actress wore a Galia Lahav wedding dress with a floral motif and while it wasn’t your typical beach bridal gown, it all came down to how it made her feel.
"I kind of knew right away. It wasn't about the destination. It was about how I felt in the dress,” she said. “I wanted to feel sexy, but I also wanted to feel like a bride. This is my first and last wedding, I’m praying, so I just wanted to kind of blow it out."
They got married on the beach with their daughter, who did double duty as the flower girl and ring bearer, by their side. After the ceremony, the guests moved on to cocktail hour while the newlyweds took their official photos as husband and wife. And then it was party time. Tika changed into another look for the reception. “I wanted something fun and flirty, short and a little sexier so that I could dance,” she said.
As the three-day extravaganza came to a close, Tika was very grateful to her guests for taking time out to spend the weekend with them and be a witness to her and Nick’s love.
"My favorite part of the planning process was just looking at all of the names of my friends and family who were coming," Tika expressed. "Each one made me smile, so it made me even more excited to plan something beautiful. I wanted everybody to have a great time. I really had my friends, my family, my future husband in mind—it wasn't just for me. It was a real celebration of all the people who have held us up on this journey to make it what it is. They're really part of that thread. It was almost like a gift for them to really love where they are, love being together, and just overall having a really great time."
Check out Brides for more exclusive photos of Tika and Nicolas' three-day wedding event.
Featured image by Jana Williams Photography, courtesy of Brides
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While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Feature image by Leon Bennett/WireImage
