( 📸: Getty Images )
Cousins! Congratulations are in order for actor Blair Underwood as he’s recently tied the knot to his longtime friend Josie Hart!
Following 43 years of friendship the pair exchanged vows in an intimate ceremony in the Dominican Republic on Saturday, June 24th.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the actor shares that he was a very hands-on groom. “I’ve been very involved. I’m a Virgo and a bit of a perfectionist so I like to make sure details are taken care of.”
Blair says that the ceremony was both beautiful and humbling, “The first time I saw her in the dress, she looked like looked like a princess,” he says. “She was so beautiful. The deep emotions that were displayed during the ceremony, the lightness and fun of the reception, it all felt humbling because it all just fell into place. It was amazing.”
Josie was photographed wearing a bespoke transitional two-in-one gown featuring a fitted trumpet silhouette and a detachable overskirt with a cathedral-length train designed by Nneka C. Alexander of Brides by Nona Couture Atelier. Blair wore an ISAIA ivory wool/silk jacquard patterned evening jacket with a satin lapel paired with a linen vest and evening trousers, per PEOPLE.
“It was surreal and magical,” Josie says. “His vows, to hear him say the words he said to me for our forever was incredible. Between our children and all of them giving toasts, the fireworks right after our first dance, the entire day was just beyond my expectations.”
The two exchanged handwritten vows under an arch layered with roses at Casa de Campo Resort & Villas reports the outlet.
The international wedding ceremony consisted of 100 guests including celebrity attendees; actress Kim Fields and actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
“It was a beautiful, soul-touching celebration of kindred spirits, love and family, as incredible as Josie and as phenomenal as Blair,” says Kim.
Blair tells PEOPLE he met his bride when they were teenagers and that they stayed connected for over forty years. “My mother loved and adored her. We lived separate lives on separate coasts. We never saw each other a lot. But when we talked, there’s always such a strong connection of just understanding each other.”
The two are said to have reconnected after both undergoing two separate divorces. Blair proposed to Josie back in 2022, “It just feels so right,” he adds. “I just feel like it is the next step in moving forward in my life, and doing it together in our lives together.”