Popular singer Ne-Yo was a guest at a wedding rehearsal dinner at Il Palio Restaurant on Friday night.
The rehearsal was for Ne-Yo’s manager, who was married the next day at the Waterview in Monroe, according to Il Palio operator Cliff Pereira.
“It was amazing,” Pereira said of the rehearsal dinner. “They were drinking champagne and Hennessy. They had a great time.”
The Huntington Herald was the first to report the celebrity sighting.
Pereira said he was unaware that the dinner would turn into a celebrity affair when it was booked. He said the manager, who he declined to name, did not mention that Ne-Yo would be attending.
But, Pereira said, “he was hinting that it would be some party.”
The dinner rehearsal took place in Il Palio’s downstairs lounge. About 40 people attended.
Then, the group invited another 60 people for an after party at the Il Palio lounge and outdoor patio, Pereira said.
“Hennessy and champagne were flowing all night,” Pereira said.
Bartender Sue Gaboriault said the group was lively. And, she said — they were excellent tippers.
“I stayed late, but it was no problem because we had a great time,” Gaboriault said. “It was awesome.”
Pereira declined to say how much the group spent at the restaurant, but said it was “an unbelievable dollar amount.”
Neither he nor Gaboriault recognized Ne-Yo when he came in, but younger staff members immediately knew who he was, Gaboriault said.
“My daughter was mad at me,” Gaboriault said. “She said ‘I can’t believe you didn’t call me.’”
Pereira described Ne-Yo as a “gentleman” who came to the dinner wearing black sunglasses and a New York Yankees cap.
Ne-Yo’s song with artist Pitbull, “Give Me Everything,” is currently no. 4 on the Billboard chart this week.
Pereira heard that Sean “P. Diddy” (Puff Daddy) Combs had stopped by to the after party. He didn’t personally see Combs, but heard from other guests that he was there.
“It was so secretive, you didn’t know what was going on,” Pereira said of Combs’ alleged appearance.
The rumor was that Combs was a DJ at the wedding at the Waterview in Monroe Saturday. However, employees there said the story wasn’t true.
There were celebrities at the Waterview, but the workers were tight-lipped about who attended.
An employee at the Sierra Hotel, where the celebrities are also rumored to have stayed, would not comment.
Pereira said other celebrities have stopped by Il Palio for dinner in the past, but he declined to name them, for fear of them not returning.
“We’ve become popular,” Pereira said. “In Shelton, Connecticut. Imagine that.”
Editor’s Note: The Valley Indy staff doesn’t know Ne-Yo from a yo-yo. However, our former intern Michael Lee-Murphy, 22, called him the “Marvin Gaye for the post 9/11 world.”
