Dominique Sharpton, a 30-year-old civil rights activist and aspiring actress, marched slowly past three police officers on her way into the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in Jamaica, Queens.

Holding a large bouquet of white orchids, Ms. Sharpton locked arms with her father, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and they marched together to a booming rendition of “Searching for Love,” the soulful words echoing high among the arches of one of the nation’s largest black churches, nearly a thousand seats filled with family and friends, reporters, television executives and political figures seated on both sides of the aisle, this one strewn with daisy and rose petals.

For Ms. Sharpton, dressed in a white, two-piece hand-embroidered lace wedding gown, this particular march ended at the altar, the beginning of a new life for her and Marcus Bright, a 33-year-old academic from Tennessee, clad in a dark blue tuxedo, who had stolen her heart.