Mekhi Phifer Marries Reshelet Barnes in Intimate Ceremony
Actor Mekhi Phifer married his fiancée Reshelet Barnes this weekend in an intimate ceremony with family and friends. Phifer has been engaged three times and married twice.
Phifer and Barnes reportedly exchanged vows at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, in front of 100 family and friends. One of his sons took part in the ceremony and walked the couple's Chihuahua down the aisle, much to the amusement of attendees. Phifer then made his entrance to "Ribbon in the Sky" by Stevie Wonder.
"When she (Barnes) made her entrance into the courtyard, Mekhi was completely overcome with emotion and you could tell she took his breath away. He had to wipe tears away from his eyes for several minutes," an eyewitness told E! News.
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The couple then exchanged vows and received a standing ovation from the crowd before beginning the after-party. It's the first marriage for Phifer, though he has two sons from previous relationships.
His younger son, Mekhi Thira Phifer was born in 2007 to then-fiancée Oni Souratha. At the time, the couple was expected to marry and Phifer joked that he wanted to start his own "tribe" with "four or five kids."
"I figure I'll sleep when I'm dead," Phifer told People magazine at the premiere of "This Christmas" later that same year. Having a second child "does make you a little bit more focused … let's you know you're a little bit more mature, a little bit older and you got things that are important. I think you just learn a little bit more about yourself, you know, just having a kid and putting a lot of energy into it."
His older son, Omikaye, was from his first marriage to actress Malinda Williams and has been an influential part of Phifer's life.
"This is the second time I'm doing it. I think you're just a little bit more skilled and you know what it is that you want to do, and you [have] kind of been down that road before," Phifer explained.
