Updated: Click here to see photos of the big day. The Rev. Raphael Warnock and Ouleye Ndoye say their "I dos" in ceremony at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
This Valentine’s Day will be extra special for the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Less than two months after proposing to girlfriend, Ouleye Ndoye, 31 during church's annual Watch Night Service, the two are tying the knot publicly on Valentine's Day. The two will exchange vows at 2:30 p.m. in the Horizon Sanctuary.
This won’t be the first time the couple said “I do.”
They wed in a private ceremony last month in Danforth Chapel on the campus of Morehouse College, Warnock’s alma mater. Many Morehouse men and Spelman College women have married there.
“I’ve waited a long time for this moment and I’ve worked hard for a long time,” he said Saturday. “It’s exciting to finally give more attention to my personal life.”
The Rev. Shanan Jones said Warnock told church members that they wanted to have a more public ceremony as well.
“He said they were so much in love and they they couldn’t think of a better time to do it than Valentine’s Day,” he said. “They thought it was a beautiful day to have a wedding.”
Others think so as well.
Sunday is not only Valentine’s Day, it is Love Day at the Auburn Avenue church.
During the 11 a.m. worship service, 30 married couples will renew their sacred vows. In addition to the renewal service, Warnock, 46, will also preside over the nuptials of a young couple.
“Marriage and ministry meet this Sunday. For my whole ministry has been about leading and loving in ways that embody the truths I preach about,” Warnock said in a statement. “That takes on a whole new level this Sunday as I pledge my lifelong love commitment while leading others in doing the same.”
Warnock was called to serve as the fifth senior pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church a decade ago.
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