As Alexis Major walked down the aisle to a violinist's rendition of John Legend's “All of Me,” she saw her beloved Karim Butler sit under a ceremonial white floral arch. I could see him crying. She took a seat on the chair across from him, wiped the tears from his face, and the traditional Muslim wedding ceremony began.
From the wedding ceremony to the after party, the entire evening was a lavish affair. The logo of the cannabis company Gumbo was a motif throughout the wedding.
The idea for Gumbo, the couple's 'baby' as Mr Butler calls it, began in October 2019. This was after they learned that many of their friends in the music and major league sports industries were becoming addicted to opioids. Both men have had long careers in the industry. Mr. Major, 45, was a manager of NFL players. Mr Butler, 47, whose real name is Luka, has worked with a variety of musicians and labels in management, marketing and promotion.
They said they wanted to develop alternative pain management options, so they created Gumbo, which sells cannabis products in a variety of consumption forms. “What we melt in a pot and say becomes gumbo is a mixture of different species,” she said.
The couple had no intention of starting a large business, but as word spread that it was a burden, it became apparent that there was a demand. “We were just giving medication to people we knew,” Mr Butler said. “And it was transformed because people wanted it.”
From there, Gumbo took off and today is sold in pharmacies around the world. Mr. Mr. Butler is Gumbo's chief executive officer and Ms. Major is the Chief Financial Officer. (“He’s the beauty and I’m the brains,” Mr. Major joked.)
Many of Gumbo's early supporters, including musical artists Davido, Quavo and Fat Joe, attended the June 8 wedding at Park Château Estate and Gardens in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and some of them performed impromptu performances at the reception. .
Guests took photos outside and ate seafood and pasta during cocktail hour before heading down a candle-lit hallway draped in white silk and decorated with life-sized photos of the couple to the reception.
Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers serenaded the couple for their first dance, wearing a black tuxedo with silver sparkly lapels. Smoke covered them and fireworks lit up the hall.
Guests joined the couple on the dance floor as they belted out lyrics to the Isley Brothers' biggest hits, including “Contagious” and “Footsteps in the Dark.” (One 24-year-old guest asked her mother, “Is this a real singer?” to which her mother jokingly replied, “Kids these days only know samples and remixes. This is the real thing.”)
Ms. Major said the younger guests were Mr. He said watching Isley get excited about performing was a highlight. She said, “Young girls and boys who look like us have never seen anything like it.” Mr. Major said. “You don’t know it’s possible unless you see it. And we really put our lives on display to let people like us know that if you want something, you can have it. “It is possible to obtain it.”
He added, “I work hard and play hard.”
The couple plays really hard. The reception turned into a mini music festival. At the reception, Davido, the Afrobeat star and friend of the couple, took the microphone and began singing his song 'Sensational' with Chris Brown and Rojai, before dancing alongside the bride, who held a drink glass in his hand. .
“Make a fuss for my people,” he said, before singing “Fall,” a popular wedding song that begins with the lyrics “Money falls on you.” Guests threw cash into the air in befitting fashion.
Then, rappers Quavo and Moneybagg Yo, who danced on stage wearing sunglasses, impromptuly performed a few of their own songs. “They were just there as guests, but they were all so excited that they performed,” Mr. Major said.
Mr. Major and Mr. Butler first met in September 2017 at Tajia Diamonds, a jeweler in New York's Diamond District. They were both there for the same reason. The lock on the chain necklace needed to be fixed.
Mr. Major approached him first, and he said he blushed but maintained a professional demeanor. He handed her her business card.
Instead, she told him, “Take my number.”
“She was feeling me and I was feeling her, but she was trying a little harder,” Mr Butler said. “I think she knew what she wanted.”
When asked in an interview the day before the wedding whether she agreed with this story, Ms. Major said, “For the fifth time, I ask you to marry this man tomorrow.” Ms. Major was in her own suite, having her hair and makeup done by David Burke of East Brunswick, New Jersey, for the rehearsal dinner in Orchard Park. Mr. Butler was on the phone in his car. They have playful personalities and often tease each other as they reminisce about their travels together.
A few days after meeting at the jewelry store, Mr. Butler called her on FaceTime. Mr. Major was in the shower at the time, but he was so excited to get the call from him that he forgot where he was and answered the phone.
He hung up immediately. “I was so surprised,” he recalled. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, I can’t call this girl again.’”
However, she called him back and apologized, and through subsequent phone calls they got to know each other. Last October, the two arranged to meet at Made in Mexico, a hot spot restaurant in Manhattan's Inwood neighborhood.
When she showed up at the restaurant, she was standing there waiting for him. But despite Mr. Butler’s boasts about being “that local guy,” he recalled that he happened to go to another restaurant with the same name. When he finally showed up at the right place, she had to attend singer Keyshia Cole's birthday party at Philippe Chow.
Mr. Butler wanted to go there with her to make up for lost time. He insisted on sitting at her bar while she attended a party in her private room at her restaurant.
Ms. Her friends at Major asked her why she was so late. “I met this person,” she recalled. “I think I really like that person.” They didn't trust her because her Mr. Major had a reputation for being hard to please.
Mr. Cole convinced the entire group to go to a bar and meet a man who seemed to have accomplished the seemingly impossible. And to impress his friends, Mr. Butler offered to buy everyone a drink.
Little did he know that they were drinking expensive Martel cognac. Mr. Major attempted to communicate through hand gestures telling him not to order shooting. He didn't get the memo.
The bill came to $15,000 and he paid it. “I liked her,” Mr. Butler said. “She was going to do what I needed to do to make a good impression on her,” he said. But Mr. Major was not impressed. She was embarrassed that he had picked up such expensive bills.
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Their first official date was at Lure Fishbar in Soho on November 1, 2017, which they considered doing again.
“And since then we have been inseparable,” Mr. Butler said. The couple moved into an apartment together in Englewood, New Jersey in January 2018.
At the time, Mr. Major was going through a difficult time in his life. Her mother had just passed away, and Ms. Butler was left to support her.
“Luca was like a ray of sunshine.” she said “He pushed me to be a better person and be happy. He was a very positive influence, very driven and motivating.”
Part of that included making gumbo together, a labor of love. Another was his role in her spiritual journey. Mr Butler is Muslim, and he observed Ramadan, the Muslim fasting period, for the first time in 2018. Last year she converted.
“Accepting Islam brought peace to my life.” Mr. Major said. “His support and deep understanding of the faith guided me every step of the way, and the experience became not just a personal development, but a shared bond that strengthened our connection.”
Before the first Ramadan, Mr. Butler proposed in front of the Grant Project in Harlem. He grew up between there and the Bronx. A previous marriage ended in divorce. He has three sons aged 18, 24 and 26.
Mr. Major is from New London, Connecticut. She holds an Associate's Degree in Marketing and a Bachelor's Degree in Merchandising from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Her previous marriage ended in divorce. She has a 9-year-old daughter.
On June 8, the couple married in front of 320 guests at Imam Izak-El Mu'eed Pasha of Masjid Malcolm Shabazz, a mosque in Harlem.
After the reception, part of the venue was transformed into a club complete with fire dancers, a dance floor, and lounge seating. The after party ended around 2am. Some guests headed directly to the airport, including A&R executive Donny Flores, who flew in from Miami for the wedding. He had known Mr. Major for twenty years.
“Seeing her happy with Luca makes me feel like everything is a gift from God.” Mr. Flores said. “I had to be there on their special day.”
On his way out of the after-party, Mr. Butler held his hand bluntly and said: “I hope everyone enjoyed the wedding of the century.”
Today
when June 8, 2024
where Park Chateau Estate and Gardens, East Brunswick, New Jersey
custom couture Ms. Major traveled to Paris five times to complete her custom silk Zuhair Murad dress. Her daughter wore a miniature version of this dress. At the reception Ms. Major changed into a strapless gown by Edyth Couture. Mr. Butler wore a tailored suit by Frère.
new york pride Ms. Butler wanted to infuse her wedding with a touch of New York pride.. A yellow food truck called the Bodega Truck was parked outside the venue during the after-party so guests could grab a chopped cheese sandwich on their way out.
Gumbo Pop-up Shop A room in one corner of the club was filled with memorabilia, including gumbo flowers, T-shirts, mugs, Sour Patch Kids and ashtrays in zipper pouches decorated with cartoon drawings of the bride and groom. Customers filled their shopping bags. For the couple, the gift bags are about “providing support to our community and letting them know that Black love is alive and thriving here,” Mr. Major said.