*Symone D. Sanders and Shawn Townsend held a surprise Washington, D.C. wedding ceremony on Friday afternoon following their year-long engagement.
The couple tied the knot at the historic Larz Anderson House on Embassy Row, People reports. About 100 of the pair’s friends and family attended the ceremony and only a few of them knew that they were attending a wedding.
Per the report, Sanders vowed to “always be there” for her new husband. “To put it simply you’re the best man I know,” she said. “I’m very grateful just for everything that you are. You have always just been the most thorough person. You are so kind. You are so loving.”
CNN’s Abby Phillip and MSNBC’s Catherine Snyder were among the guests at the celebration.
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Sanders previously told PEOPLE that they planned to marry in Mexico this summer.
“It’s the moments behind closed doors that we’ve shared,” said Townsend as part of his vows. “Whether it’s me complaining about Real Housewives, a political debate or photobombing my Zoom calls. It is all time well spent together.”
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In the fall, Mr. and Mrs. Townsend will honeymoon in the Mediterranean for two weeks.
“I am so excited, over the moon excited,” Sanders previously told PEOPLE. “It’ll be a smaller wedding. I know people are probably expecting a big, huge blowout thing, but it will be our immediate circle, our friends and family.”
Pastor Dededrick O. Rivers of Ward Memorial AME Church officiated the wedding, according to the report.
Sanders, formerly the Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, currently hosts the weekend show “Symone” on MSNBC. Townsend is the former director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of Nightlife and Culture, a.k.a. the “Night Mayor.”
