Former Lime Tree Lane actress marries beau of seven years
Remember Gillian Hue, who played ‘Honey’ on the long-running local soap/sitcom Lime Tree Lane. Well, the precocious little girl, who as the daughter of speaky-spokey Miss Upton would constantly squabble with her playmate Johnnie is all grown up now, and two weeks ago, on a bright and sunny November afternoon, she married her former schoolmate and beau of seven years, Ian O’Neal Beckford.
The groom, who hovered nervously at the door of the church until assured that his bride would indeed show up, was escorted up the aisle by his parents, Elon and Marylin Beckford, who beamed proudly as their youngest son greeted guests. While they managed to contain their delight, the groom could not, grinning widely when he finally saw his bride arrive, fashionably late by nearly half-hour.
In a hand-beaded strapless white gown with a cathedral-length train and orchid blossoms in her hair, the bride alighted at the Sts Peter and Paul Catholic church from a vintage Rolls Royce, complete with gloved chauffer.
To the echoes of the Stella Maris Steel Band playing the themes song from St Elmo’s Fire, Gillian was escorted up the aisle by her mother, Lois Hue and her older brother Damian. The ceremony was symbolically officiated by Bishop of Montego Bay the Most Revd Charles DuFour, who married the bride’s parents in 1973, while Rev Oliver Daley, who wed the groom’s parents 33 years ago, delivered the Homily.
After the two were pronounced husband and wife, the start of their new life together was marked by the release of live butterflies instead of the traditional rice grains before they continued to The Ruins at the University of the West Indies for the reception.
There, the lawns were brought to life by the hand of event designer extraordinaire Ann-Marie Wyss, who painstakingly decorated the venue with an assortment of cala lilies, orchids, roses, and carnations. Following toasts, dinner, and the cutting of the cake, bride and groom took to the dance floor for their first dance, which elicited chuckles as MC for the evening, Fae Ellington poked fun at the height difference between Ian, 6″3 and Gillian teetering at 5″ 3 in stilettos.
Formalities aside, the nearly 350 guests joined the lovebirds in dancing into the wee hours of the morning to reggae tunes played by the Bare Essentials Band. Guests included fellow former Lime Tree Lane alumna Dorothy ‘Miss Zella’ Cunningham, member of Parliament Derrick Smith and his wife Karlene, Mr and Mrs R Danny Williams, Vin and Beverley Lawrence, Judge and Mrs Carl Harrison, and family and friends who flew in from as far away as California, London and Korea.
Ian and Gillian first met while both attended Campion College in Kingston, and started dating while both were studying for their undergraduate degrees – Ian at the University of Virginia and Gillian at Washington College in Maryland. They will reside in Atlanta Georgia, where Ian works as a network engineer at the corporate headquarters of Home Depot, and where the Gillian is currently in the last stages of research for a PhD in neuroscience at Emory University.
allwoman@jamaicaobserver.com
