Kinetic Engineering Services civil engineer and project manager Duvaughn Henlon wed National Commercial Markets product and process analyst Stephanie Adams on Saturday, August 17, at Eight Rivers Villa, Ocho Rios. Their journey to the altar might be deemed happenstance but there’s nothing that we love more at Vows than a happily-ever-after.

The two met on the hockey field as both played for the St Andrew Hockey Club. Stephanie overheard Duvaughn making plans to attend a soca fete and decided to tag along. Duvaughn made arrangements for her to not only attend the party but to also be taken home after the fete. Seeds of friendship were sown that night that would soon blossom into love.

The proposal…

… took place last year at the Blue Ridge Restaurant & Cottages. The couple had both decided on a joint birthday celebration. Hers was on August 16 and his on August 19. There was no inkling that a proposal would follow his toast. Indeed, there was a collective gasp of shock when he went down on one knee, pulled out a ring and expressed his love and desire for Stephanie to marry him. Flanked by immediate family members and friends, and with tears of joy streaming down her face, she accepted the proposal.

Here comes the bride

Guests filled the lawns of Eight Rivers Villa, Ocho Rios, to witness the nuptials and soon settled in a circle featuring white, green and burgundy flowers, instead of a traditional arch, which was created by Petals and Promises.

The bridesmaids made their way up the aisle to the strains of Real Friends by Christopher Martin, D-Major, and Agent Sasco. They wore burgundy dresses by Donald Mirander and were escorted by the groom’s squad who wore sand-coloured suits by Mark Anthony.

Stephanie appeared solo in a show-stopping lace and pearl gown by local designer Donald Mirander. She commenced her walk to Keznamdi’s So Right, and was met halfway by her father, Vincent Adams, who escorted her to her groom, patiently awaiting her in a Mark Anthony three-piece forest green suit.

The nuptials, which included a paint/pour ceremony and the jumping of hockey sticks, was officiated by Reverend Astor Carlyle.

The reception

…was held on the cliffside around the pool where Kara Anderson and her team from Petals and Promises used shades of green, burgundy, white and gold to decorate the area. The table seating reflected the couple’s passion for hockey and mimicked a hockey field chart with hockey positions in lieu of table numbers.

The bridal party danced their way in to Big Deal by Christopher Martin and were soon followed by the newly-weds who made their entrance to Joseph Stepper’s Wife.

Formalities, which were handled by Ryan Dixon, included the couple’s first dance as husband and wife, to Jesse Royal’s Real Love and Shape Nice by Afro B, Vybz Kartel, and Dre Skull and continued with the cutting of the three-tiered fruitcake with white icing and green floral arrangements by Leanne’s Sweet Tooth.

After dining on a scrumptious three-course meal catered by Pier 1, guests enjoyed toasts from family and friends which spoke to the character of the bride and groom, and the great job their parents had done in raising them. The groom topped it off with his response and spoke tenderly of their love story, his pledge to his wife and his gratitude to all who made their special day possible. Guests were later invited to join the couple on the cliff to release wish lanterns.

Non-stop partying followed and continued into the wee hours of the morning.

The honeymoon

The lovebirds honeymooned in St Lucia.