Shaunie O’Neal is Married! Basketball Wives Star Weds Pastor Keion Henderson in Anguilla: “immediately fell in love with it”

Shaunie O'Neal Married Weds Pastor
Shaunie O'Neal Married Weds Pastor (images credit: Getty Images)

The happy couple tied the knot on Saturday at the Aurora Anguilla Resort and Golf Club

Shaunie O’Neal and Keion Henderson have tied the knot!

PEOPLE can exclusively confirm that the Basketball Wives star married her pastor fiancé in a tropical island ceremony on Saturday.

The Aurora Anguilla Resort and Golf Club hosted the Anguilla wedding, which drew over 200 guests. The romantic outdoor ceremony was held on the 10th hole of the golf course, with the bride entering as singer Yolanda Adams performed. The bride was walked down the aisle by her three sons to meet her now-husband.

“I just lost my dad in February,” O’Neal tells PEOPLE. “So, I really struggled with how I was going to get down the aisle. Losing my dad in the midst of planning this wedding was a lot, so my sons handed me off.”

Having her five children (with ex Shaquille O’Neal) by her side meant “everything” to the happy mother, who defines her family as a “package deal” in terms of relationships.

O’Neal wore a glittering gown designed by Jean Louis Sabajai in collaboration with fashion stylist Eric Archibald, which was coupled with a dreamlike veil also designed by the designer.

She was accessorized with David Yurman jewelry and Jimmy Choo shoes. Diamond Johnson produced the glowing bride’s updo, while Alaina Saulsberry developed her cosmetics look.

Henderson wore a Dolce and Gabbana cream tux, while the groomsmen wore Atelier Houston.

Bishop TD Jakes officiated at the wedding, which was planned by The Happy Couple in conjunction with The Britto Agency/Global Brand Strategist and photographed by Manolo Doreste and videographer Michael Tamil. Jason of Beverly Hills gave the couple wedding bands.

The couple chose the location because they “immediately fell in love with it” during a recent trip.

“I think after that first visit, we knew this was the place we wanted to get married,” O’Neal, 47, tells PEOPLE. For Henderson, 41, Anguilla’s rich history and welcoming residents made them “proud to connect to” the island and “start their journey” there.

Guests at the reception dined on Anguillian-inspired dishes such as local seafood and crayfish, all set against blush rose florals designed by Black Orchid.

Guests spent the evening dancing to music by the Isley Brothers and Jukebox under a special tent at the resort’s clubhouse and D Richards Restaurant, before Spinderella took over DJ duties for the afterparty in the late-night hours.

Throughout the ceremony and reception, thoughtful details were incorporated, such as an Eleven/11 toast with McBride Sisters Brut Prosecco (a special symbol for the newlyweds).

While the evening was extravagant and much greater than they had anticipated — Shaunie tells PEOPLE that their original guest list was about 50 — it was also special and intimate.

“We wanted our guests to have a weekend of enjoyment,” O’Neal says. “We just like to have fun and love each other and we wanted to do that with our friends and family.”

The couple dated for two years before getting engaged in November. From their first meeting, a six-hour meeting inside a hotel lobby, O’Neal and Henderson’s connection was obvious.

“I was in California getting ready to preach. … She finally agreed to meet me,” Henderson tells PEOPLE. O’Neal had been out to dinner with a friend earlier that evening and told her future husband she’d go out with him “if she had time after eating.”

So for the next six hours, they connected over family and faith. “But then I walk her to her car, give her a sideways hug, and I let her get in the car and drive off,” the groom says.

“He didn’t even try to kiss me!” his bride interjects.

Henderson says she gave him “complete pandemonium” for weeks after he fumbled that first smooch. He made up for it at the perfect time, though: “I showed her the kiss I would have given her the day I met her,” Henderson tells PEOPLE of their first kiss as husband and wife on Saturday.

Henderson fit right in with her family long before the “I dos,” his bride says. “He’s been amazing to just step into our lives and fill a void that’s been there for a minute in a space of just being here with me, cause I haven’t had somebody,” she says. “They love him which makes me love him even more.”

The feeling is mutual for the groom. “She’s amazing. She’s just the most laid-back, hilarious, fun-loving person. She’s a woman of faith,” Henderson gushes. “She can cook, she can dress, and she can sing!”

As for what’s next for the Hendersons, “we want to build a legacy together,” O’Neal says. The next chapter for her is about “growing, evolving, and becoming,” she says.

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