Zillion dollar wedding

Update: Wedding airs at 8 p.m. May 2 due to network change of plans

Catherine and Dr. Eddie Lee walk down the aisle at the InterContinental HoustonNear the Galleria.
Family dogs accompanied bridesmaids down the aisle while 270 guests looked on.
As pretty as a picture, the Lees will see their wedding on WEtv on Sunday night.
The five-layer raspberry wedding cake was created by Nadine Moon of Who Make theCake.
Topiaries of the family doggies adorned one of the decorative tables.
The InterContinental ballroom was a vision of floral splendor.

We doubt that it was merely the price tag of their wedding — $720,000 — that earned Catherine and Dr. Eddie Lee a slot on WeTv's hit show Platinum Weddings.

But we are sure that the over-the-top nuptials with doggies (flower rings around the canine's necks) prancing down the aisle, $100,000 worth of flowers, and a dazzling wedding gown by Lazaro convinced the show's producers that this was the stuff of champagne wished and caviar dreams. Book it.

Mark another one up for wedding planner Jo Ann Woodward of Schwartz & Woodward. This marks the third time that one of her extravaganzas has earned tube time on Platinum Weddings. This one airs ~~Sunday night at 8:30~~ Sunday May 2 at 8 p.m. (The network announced on Saturday a change of date for airing.)

The Lees were married in October at the InterContinental Houston Near the Galleria, where Plants 'n Petals created a floral fantasyland reflecting the couple's Asian heritage. The bride is Chinese and the groom is Korean. She's involved in her family's business, ownership of numerous Applebee's franchises, and he is completing his residency in plastic surgery at Baylor College of Medicine.

They were joined by 270 of their nearest and dearest, who were entertained first by the Encore Strings and then, after the seated dinner, with the dance sounds of DJRocky.

The couple indulged their mutual sweet tooth with a five-layer raspberry wedding cake ($4,500) from Who Made the Cake, a Marble Slab ice cream stand featuring five of the bride's favorite flavors complete with all the mixings, and a dessert table laden with mini-dessert offerings. We assume the dancing helped burn off some of those late-night calories.

Truth in advertising: The tariff for this production soared when the bride's South Sea pearl necklace and earrings ($255,000), a wedding gift from her mother, were thrown into the tally along with the bride's $75,000 engagement ring. And there was another $6,000 added for the life-sized topiaries of the couple's three dogs. A stunning floral tribute ($2,000 each) to man's best friend and to the Lees' love for their pooches.

As a grand finale to the evening, there was a flower petal toss (forget that old-hat rice thing) as the couple rode away in a horse-drawn carriage. Of course, many more details will be revealed when the show airs.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”