Love can blossom from the deepest of friendships and there is no greater evidence than the story of Annakay Hudson and Milieko Edwards, whose journey to the altar was a slow burn that developed into something special.

The couple exchanged vows witnessed by an intimate gathering of 60 at the Tower Isle Villa Viento in St Ann on October 27, 2024. The theme was Bridgerton-inspired.

Cupid’s arrow was in flight on the day they met in August 2018 at The University of the West Indies, Mona. Both were medical students and were introduced to each other by mutual friends. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Milieko made a surprising declaration that had Annakay shocked and intrigued.

“He said, ‘This is Annakay. This is going to be my next ex-girlfriend’. So I said, ‘This man is very audacious. Why would you introduce somebody as your next ex-girlfriend when the only thing you know about me is my name?’ He was like, ‘Don’t worry it’s not something bad.’ So I said what is that supposed to mean? He said, ‘I’m going to be his girlfriend and then his future wife.’” Annakay chuckled as she related the encounter to Tuesday Style Vows (TSV).

While she may have laughed it off then, it would plant a seed that slowly developed as she got to know Milieko, a native of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

“The Vincy accent caught me off guard… So I was, like, this is new… This is nice. He was a tall, dark, handsome guy and muscular. I was feeling it, but I was playing hard to get,” quipped Annakay.

Annakay, a native of St Ann, would commute to campus from Portmore. Milieko’s evening check-ins to ensure that she arrived safely was, in her words, his way of working himself into her life. Her decision to live on campus provided the perfect opportunity for them to know each other better, as Milieko, who also lived on campus, would accompany her to classes daily. That would expand to meetings in the library and an invitation to lunch where she cooked ackee and salt fish for him and close friends.

While their friends teased them about the prospect of being in a relationship, they played it down, insisting they were only friends. However, their status changed in December 2018 when Annakay asked him about the nature of their relationship after so much time together. Milieko responded matter-of-factly.

“He said to me, ‘Oh you didn’t know that you are my girlfriend?’ I said, what do you mean? He said, ‘All this time we have been hanging out, you thought we were just friends? You didn’t know that you were my girlfriend?’ So I said, ‘No, I didn’t know. You didn’t ask me to be your girlfriend’.” Annakay recalled.

Milieko sought to rectify the situation. “Then he said, ‘Alright since you want me to ask you: Would you be my girlfriend?’ And I said yes.” Annakay shared.

Their four-year relationship had been defined by honesty, transparency and faith. Additionally, it was refreshing for her to be in love with someone who was equally as giving.

“The way that I care for other people as well, it was the first time that was reciprocated by somebody. The relationship as a friendship didn’t feel like a strain. It didn’t feel like I was always giving to someone,” Annakay said.

Love blossomed even through challenging times. In their final year of medical school, after a contentious phone call one day that ended with Annakay declaring that Milieko should not call her back, he drove to St Ann where she lived, knowing that her frustration was masking how much she missed him.

“In two hours he called to tell me that someone was at the gate and that I should come outside! There he was. He realised that I was being miserable because I missed him and I was going to end a four-year relationship because I hadn’t seen this man in two weeks,” Annakay said. “So he took me to Ultimate Jerk Centre to buy my favourite food, jerk rabbit and festival, and said, ‘Listen if you are going to be my wife, you will have to learn to manage missing me sometimes.’”

Annakay and Milieko had discussed their plans for marriage, with the former getting her ring sized in preparation for the eventual proposal. Annakay thought it would occur on three separate occasions: After they graduated in 2023; when they went to Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Miami, but nothing bore fruit. They would travel to St Vincent to meet Milieko’s family in January 2024 where she would unexpectedly get her wish.

On a trip to Princess Margaret Beach, he teased the proposal, going on bended knee only to give her food from the restaurant or brush sand off her clothes, much to her annoyance. Then Milieko insisted on taking photos at a cave they found. It would end up being the perfect moment for him to finally pop the question.

“While we were walking, an old couple offered to take our photo. I was going to show them how to use the Polaroid camera, but he decided that he must show them how to use the Polaroid. I didn’t think anything of it. While I was putting on my cover-up, I saw this man bend down again and my heart leapt. I was like you cannot be proposing right now because I know you don’t have a ring,” Annakay recalled. “I packed your bag. Unless you bought it in St Vincent, there is no way you had a ring and then he pulled out the ring that I had chosen at Gem Place in Ocho Rios. And here I am in the middle of this beautiful beach, two strangers walking by talking about our picture screaming yes because he has a ring.”

It was a proposal that was as intimate as it was memorable.

The wedding evoked similar feelings with Villa Viento expertly decorated by Annakay with assistance from the venue. To the orchestral version of If I Ain’t Got You by Alecia Keys, Annakay commenced her walk up the aisle in a dress purchased from Steven’s Multiplaza in Panama. The beaming bride said I do to Milieko under the watchful eye of Reverend Philbert Wynn and the couple soon shared their first kiss as husband and wife.

The reception followed with catering provided by the venue. The Edwardses enjoyed the customary wedding toasts and savoured their two-tier cake provided by Sheila’s Homemade Pastries. They enjoyed their first dance as a married couple to Luther Vandross’s Always and Forever.

The Bridgerton-themed wedding was a fitting representation of their journey, similar to the love story of Colin and Penelope Bridgerton, who also started out as friends in the much-acclaimed Netflix series.

“We both always knew that we wanted each other but we had always been friends. It’s as if you are such good friends that you don’t even realise that you are falling in love with this person. When you realise that you are in love with this person, you don’t want to ruin your friendship with a relationship,” Annakay said. “But when you give in, you realise that you are still friends and a little bit more and that is the most important part, to me, of a relationship: Being with somebody who is also my friend.”

The Edwardses honeymooned at the Hyatt Zilara in Montego Bay.