Five years of courtship culminated on Saturday, August 14, at the Webster Memorial United Church when Jamaica Constabulary Force Senior Communications strategist Dennis Brooks and Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Executive Assistant Susan Wilson were joined in holy matrimony.

Their initial encounter was hardly memorable. Both were at the Ministry of Education’s official launch of the 2016-2017 school year; Dennis in the capacity of master of ceremonies and Susan, one of the organisers. A brief conversation ensued. Due to the nature of their jobs, however, their paths would cross. Indeed, a lot! Unbeknownst to them Cupid’s arrow was hovering. What was initially a casual encounter blossomed into a solid friendship and then love. By 2018, the two were inseparable and would become, in April 2019, parents to a beautiful baby boy whom they named Jaxon. Their bond was further cemented.

Mother’s Day however provided the perfect opportunity for Dennis to take the relationship to the next level. With family and friends supporting via Zoom Dennis popped the question. Overcome with emotion, Susan said, “Yes.”

The smart decision to have the engagement party and wedding within a week of each other made the planning a tad more frenetic but incredibly memorable. The Jamaica Pegasus hotel hosted the engagement party where guests raised toasts, related embarassing stories and wished the couple well, ahead of their nuptials, as well as socialised in their respective bubbles.

On Saturday, August 14, close family and friends convened at the Webster Memorial United Church to witness the union of Susan and Dennis.

Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years signalled the bride’s arrival. Her gown, a white lace and satin mermaid-style accented with a beaded sequinned detachable sash made quite the impression as, too, her bouquet of white roses, baby’s breath, gypsophila, and ruscus. She was escorted to her dapper, cobalt-blue suited bridegroom by Desmond McKenzie, minister of local government and rural developement. The ceremony was officiated by Reverend Astor Carlyle.

The reception followed at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel. Given the fact that many relatives live in the diaspora and weren’t able to attend, an important element of the event was the full multimedia production staged by Jermaine King and the team from Live Sound Productions, which was broadcast to their guests via Zoom. It would prove a lively, interactive affair with guests on Zoom nattily attired, dancing and raising copious toasts to the newly-weds. The straddling of both the face-to-face and online worlds was ably handled by master of ceremonies Garth Williams.

Guests in attendance enjoyed the fare of the hotel’s award-winning food and beverage team, and along with those joining virtually, applauded lustily as the newly-weds cut the two-tiered cake by Taylor’s Tasty Treats and opened the dance floor to BeBe and CeCe Winans’ I Found Love.