Ashley Blaine Featherson, who plays Joelle Brooks on the Netflix series “Dear White People,” and Darroll Jenkins, a sports agent, were not immune to the anxiety inherent in a 2021 wedding. “In the midst of planning our wedding, many things have happened,” from Covid to hurricanes, said Ms. Featherson, 33 who is also a television producer and philanthropist.
The two met through a mutual friend in the summer of 2010, at a house party in North Hollywood, Calif. “He kind of lit up the room,” Ms. Featherson said. “We just clicked and caught a vibe,” added Mr. Jenkins. “I knew I wanted to see her again.”
Their sparks led to just friendship at first. “The romantic aspect of our relationship came about around 2011, but we didn’t officially become a couple until 2018,” said Mr. Jenkins, 34.
“But once we got into a relationship,” Ms. Featherson said, “it was like we got into a relationship. We moved in together, we got a dog, and then we were engaged three years later.”
Mr. Jenkins planned a trip to Santa Barbara, Calif., on Sept. 18, 2020, to pop the question. “I told her maybe we can go wine tasting or something,” he said. “I was downplaying it. I would say, ‘Let’s just enjoy being boyfriend and girlfriend,’ even though I bought the diamond a year before. I knew I was going to propose.”
Ms. Featherson didn’t see it coming. “Our guide was like, ‘Hey, do you want to get off the horse and explore the beach?’ And I was like, ‘Not really,’ because I didn’t. I enjoyed being on the horse. I was reluctant to get down,” she said.
When she finally did get off the horse, Mr. Jenkins suggested she look out at the beach while he took pictures of her. “When I turned around, he was on one knee proposing,” she said. “We had champagne on the beach then dinner at a nice French restaurant.”
On Sept. 5, 2021, the couple were married at Q Vineyard on Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Santa Susana, Calif. Ms. Featherson had 16 “sisters of honor” while Mr. Jenkins selected 10 “brothers of honor.” A total of 180 guests were in attendance for the outdoor affair.
All attendees, vaccinated or not, were required to provide their negative Covid test results. “We had a Q.R. code where people uploaded their results. They had to take the test within 72 hours of the wedding,” Ms. Featherson said.
The couple also had a wardrobe request for their guests: “We asked everyone to wear black, and our brothers and sisters of honor were in a pink, burgundy and wine color palette,” Ms. Featherson said. The bride wore a custom gown with a 10-foot-long train by Selina Howard of Vainglorious Brides, and Mr. Jenkins, a suit from Davidson Petit-Frère.
The ceremony was officiated by Ms. Featherson’s friend and fellow actress, Aisha Hinds, who was also a sister of honor.
After vows were exchanged, the couple simultaneously took a shot of tequila. “We love a good adult drink,” said Mr. Jenkins.
For their reception, the couple changed into different outfits and hit the dance floor. Ms. Featherson, a Maryland native and graduate of Howard University in Washington, appreciated the fete’s Go-go sounds, a soulful genre of music.
Mr. Jenkins, who is from Detroit, ensured that his home city’s club music was in rotation, too; the couple enlisted D.J. Mo Beatz, who kept the dance floor packed. The couple also secured the band Philly Featuring the Hour to play soul music at their reception.
A proud member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Ms. Featherson also incorporated the organization’s wedding traditions in the evening: “We were strolling, we sang the hymn and my line sisters sang the sweetheart song for Darroll,” she said.
As for the event as a whole, she reflected on the “added anticipation and gratefulness” that came with getting married in a trying year, and said, “It was beautiful that so many people came together in one place to celebrate our love.”
