Gayle King Shares Photos From Son’s Wedding at Oprah Winfrey’s Home

Published: 4:12 PM PDT, June 5, 2024

Gayle King is one proud mom! 

King’s “favorite son,” Will Bumpus Jr., tied the knot with his longtime love, Elise Smith, in a ceremony hosted at Oprah Winfrey’s home over the weekend. After revealing the news on Tuesday’s episode of CBS Mornings, King took to Instagram to share some photos from the lavish event.

“Favorite son Will found the girl of his dreams and now lovely @elisemariesmith is an official member of the family,” King wrote in the caption to the post. “It was truly a spectacular family wedding!”

Sharing some details from the heartwarming affair, King explained, “Elise’s dad was the officiant, fav daughter @kirbybump was the best woMAN, Elise’s sister Elizabeth was the maid of honor, Luca was the ring bearer, Elise’s mom Eva gave her away, and Will asked me to walk him down the aisle.”

King also thanked her longtime bestie for hosting the event, writing, “Thanks to @oprah — the wedding was magical in her “backyard!” She pulled out all the stops!”

King is mom to daughter Kirby, 38, and son Will, 37, with her ex-husband, William Bumpus, Sr. King and Bumpus were married from 1982 to 1993.

Meanwhile, Winfrey is more than just King’s best friend — the media mogul is also godmother to both Will Jr. and Kirby — which is one reason she “pulled out all the stops” for her godson’s big day.

When sharing the news of her son’s wedding on Tuesday’s broadcast, King revealed that Winfrey surprised the newlyweds with a show-stopping touch to close out the evening.

“Oprah arranged this, nobody knew this was happening,” she began. “When they were leaving, they arranged fireworks that they could walk through as they’re coming down the aisle.” 

King said that the event was an intimate family affair, and that the couple plans to celebrate again with a “dance party for their friends” at a later date. 

“My favorite part of the ceremony were the vows,” King gushed of the ceremony. “They both of course wrote their own vows and at one point, Will said, ‘I know the man I am, but with you I know the man I want to be.’ That gave me goosebumps.” 

She added, “You go to weddings and everybody’s in love, but there is something about these two that I thought was very epic. It was next level. So it’s always nice when you can see your own children happy and married.” 

Bumpus Jr. isn’t the first to exchange vows on Winfrey’s property. Back in 2020, he officiated his older sister’s socially distant wedding ceremony as she married Virgil Miller at the meaningful venue. 

Kirby recently welcomed her second child, a daughter, earlier this year. She is also mom to a 2-year-old son, Luca. 

“There’s something about seeing your own child become a mother that I can’t even explain it, what that feels like, what that looks like,” King previously told ET about becoming a grandmother. “And she’s so good. She’s so good!” 

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