Marvin Sapp is married!
If you’ve been keeping up, you will recall that we recently shared that the bishop and gospel music star announced his engagement to La’Boris Cole, PhD. The two, who began as friends before falling in love, didn’t offer a prospective wedding date when they shared the good news in February, but a month later, they’re now husband and wife. They tied the knot at The Chosen Vessel Church in Fort Worth, Texas on March 20, the first day of Spring, ushering in a new season and era.
We talked to the couple, who shared their wedding photos exclusively with ESSENCE, about choosing a wedding date before they were even engaged, their favorite moments from their special day (including an epic helicopter entrance by La’Boris), and why Sapp is overjoyed to be a husband—again—in this week’s Bridal Bliss.
ESSENCE: Why was it important to have a wedding shortly after the engagement announcement? A “surprise” wedding of sorts!
Bishop Marvin Sapp: While our wedding was a surprise to everyone outside of our immediate family, it was about a year in the making for us. In 2024, we decided to exclusively date and made it clear with intention that this would be a courtship leading to marriage. By 2025, we knew we were heading towards marriage and, while we kept our relationship private, we did start thinking about the practical aspects of a wedding – including when we wanted it to take place. Neither one of us wanted to wait until 2027, so we decided on 2026. We chose March 20 since it is the beginning of spring, representing a new season both literally and figuratively. We set the date before we were engaged! We were focused on establishing an unbreakable bond between us and taking the necessary measures to ensure we were entering into a marriage with a clear and aligned focus.”
La’Boris Sapp: We are both goal-oriented. When we made the conscious decision to be exclusive and Bishop was upfront that his intention was to marry, we gave ourselves a year to build a foundation and proceeded from there. We did everything in private before we shared anything with our extended family or the public. We didn’t do this because it was a secret, but because it was sacred.
What were your favorite moments from the day?
La’Boris: 1. The helicopter ride with my dad and sister. It was an amazing bonding experience with them; my dad had never ridden in a helicopter before, and I’m so happy to have created that memory with him.
- My second favorite moment was the letter I wrote to my parents, which I read before I walked down the aisle. I acknowledged how much they meant to me and all that they did to raise me to be the woman that I am. That was very meaningful for me.
- Bishop singing my dad’s favorite song (“Ordinary Just Won’t Do”) while I walked down the aisle.
- The Unity Ceremony between Bishop, his children, and me was so significant. I come from a blended family, but you wouldn’t know it by seeing us together. That’s what I want from my family unit with Bishop. That ceremony was a way of letting the kids know that we are all one.
- The ballerina, absolutely.
- Me being able to be myself throughout the ceremony, including making Bishop laugh. We laugh together ALL of the time, and being able to laugh during our wedding ceremony was special to me.
- Overall, family and friends sacrificing time, money, and their day to be with us.
Marvin: 1. Walking down the aisle with my children, knowing that they were in complete support of not only what I decided to do, but what they were going to be a part of.
- When the officiant, Bishop Neil C. Ellis of the Bahamas, said, “Who gives this man to be wed?” and my kids stood up and said, “We do.”
- That La’Boris was able to be herself unapologetically. She has a silly side that I’m glad people were able to get a glimpse of. I’m glad my church family, my family, and my friends were able to experience her as very down-to-earth and fun, and not someone who is serious all the time.
- Last but not least, one of my favorite moments was leaving. As the day and evening went on, looking back and thinking “We finally did it – I finally did it” after 16 years, and being HAPPY about it! Going from not thinking or knowing that this was going to be something I would ever do again, to actually doing it, is just an amazing feeling.
What was the inspiration behind your different looks La’Boris?
La’Boris: What I wore on the helicopter ride was originally intended for the wedding reception. Once I had the idea of arriving on a helicopter, I needed another dress. Then, when I saw how my wedding dress was coming together, I had a brand-new vision for the reception dress. So, I swapped my original reception dress for the helicopter dress! I designed my wedding dress, and it was sewn by Malton Couture. The dress was hand-sewn in Egypt. For my wedding, I wanted to look regal. I wanted to bring pride to our family. I wanted to look like a Queen. Many years ago, I sketched out how I wanted to look on my wedding day, and I stayed true to that vision. The reception dress was a fun evening look made of pearls, because I love pearls, and I think every woman should own pearls. It had a slit in it so that I would be comfortable dancing, and it had a train attached, but it wasn’t so long that it would be in people’s way. I wanted to enjoy the evening, and I wore what was going to help me do that – what made me comfortable and happy.
There was a ballerina, a helicopter, a sea of flowers. How did you dream up all these incredible details for your wedding day?
La’Boris: I’m a creative at heart; I am very visual. I took pictures of the church sanctuary and the reception venue, and I took pictures of what our vendors had, and I created the moment with what there was to work with.
Now that you’re husband and wife, what are you looking forward to most about sharing your lives with one another?
La’Boris: I look forward to more joy and happiness. That’s what I have with him and what I’ve experienced with him up until this point – and I look forward to more of it. I look forward to continuing to build a legacy. As I mentioned earlier, we are both goal-oriented; I look forward to goals we will set and achieve together. I look forward to doing ministry together and changing the world one person at a time, one vision at a time, with each other. I look forward to spending the rest of my life completing my purpose with my purposed husband and basking in all that God has for us.
Marvin: I’ve always told La’Boris that I’m a better husband than I am a boyfriend because I have more experience being a husband than I do being a single man. I was a husband for 20 years, nearly half my life at the time. I love being a husband. I’m looking forward to being who I’ve always known myself to be, to being back in that space of what I’m really good at. I’m looking forward to being an example, a covering, a husband in every sense of the world. I’m grateful that I have someone in my life to do ministry with – but I understand that she is my first ministry. It’s her and my kids. My kids and I used to say “us four and no more.” Now, it’s us four and one more. Actually, it’s now us four and a few more because two of my kids have spouses and children. So, us four and a few more. I’m grateful. This is what every man envisions who is a patriarch of his family. He envisions being able to look back on his legacy and say, “Wow, look what the Lord has done.”
