Vows – Love in the Springtime
It’s said that the highest happiness on earth is marriage, and businessman Farouk O’Neil Robinson and his soulmate Dr Deonne Marise Ranglin without a doubt epitomise this saying. The Portmore Pines Pharmacy businessman met Deonne, a consultant anaesthetist, through a mutual friend in December 2007, was instantly smitten, and immediately made plans to get further acquainted. The two later became friends, and as Deonne admits, “It wasn’t love at first sight, but there was potential for a great relationship which subsequently materialised.”
The Proposal…
Three years, three months and a host of trials later, Farouk decided that Deonne, with whom he had fathered a daughter by then, was indeed the only one for him. Naturally, marriage was the next step. After months of careful planning, he decided to pop the question while they were on a flight to New York, but their daughter Chelsea was much too excited and refused to fall asleep. Since Farouk needed Deonne’s undivided attention, ‘operation proposal’ was back in effect and this time, baby Chelsea became a part of the plan. “He took me to dinner at Thai Gardens Restaurant in New Kingston,” Deonne recalled. “After a wonderful meal, Farouk got down on bended knee with our daughter in his arms and asked, ‘Will you marry us?’ I was so shocked that I could not answer initially. I begged him to ask again.” On the second request, not even shock could stop Deonne from exclaiming, “YES!”
The Wedding…
With flowers blooming and the scent of roses tantalising the senses, even nature gave the go-ahead for the couple’s beautiful wedding day on Saturday, April 30 2011. On that day, the happy couple saw their springtime theme actualised in the colours they chose — pink, yellow and green, which they thought would eliminate predictability and allow them to mix and match. “We also used orchids as the main flower, incorporated from invitations to menus, designed by Shelly-Gail Folkes,” Deonne tells Vows. Standing… waiting with anxiety and anticipation, Farouk watched his beautiful bride glide up the aisle of the University of the West Indies Chapel to the tune of Jamie Foxx and Beyoncé Knowles’s When I First Saw You. With both parents at her side, Deonne looked stunning in a figure-hugging Oleg Cassini gown from David’s Bridal. And as her parents gave her over to her eager husband-to-be, Deonne handed her ivory-rose and white dendrobium orchid bouquet to her matron of honour and replaced it with the hand of her true love to face officiating minister, the Reverend Christine Gooden Benguche. Nervousness aside, the two exchanged vows before a congregation of family and close friends. Hand in hand, Farouk and Deonne promised to take life’s journey together until death would part them. It became a celebration as soon as the Reverend Gooden Benguche announced them as husband
and wife.
The Reception…
Following the nuptials, the reception took place at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston. The exquisite décor by Jacqui Stephens of Exquisite Occasions was highlighted by a beautiful painted pink orchid on the backdrop at the head table. The traditional three-tiered fruitcake, adorned on the first two tiers with orchids and other flowers in the fashion of a garden, was designed by Diana Tie. The newly-weds took centre stage to grace the dance floor together for the first time as husband and wife to the strains of Baby Come To Me by James Ingram and Patti Austin. The happy couple later honeymooned in the Grand Cayman Islands with their daughter.
