Vows – A Facebook Love Story
“I no longer believed in the idea of soulmates, or love at first sight. But I was beginning to believe that a very few times in your life, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you. Not because he was perfect, or because you were, but because your combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together.”
— Lisa Kleypas, Blue-Eyed Devil
Then actuarial analyst Kadian Vassell and marine engineer Fritz-Maurice Neil met in high school a decade ago, they had no idea they were forging a bond that would overcome the many obstacles life would throw their way. Neil — who was just a grade below Vassell — was smitten from the start. At the time, however, it was clear that her feelings toward him were platonic, and so he never mustered the courage to tell her how he felt.
“I always had a crush on her, who wouldn’t? She was smart, fun, and had a warm personality. I remember her being very busy with the school’s business, always on some quiz team or in student meetings, all while maintaining an A average, ” Neil told Vows.
Despite his best efforts — which included many visits to her home while she was on vacation from college, and many professions of his affection for her — Neil lost touch with his love not long after she graduated high school. Still, he never gave up on the hope that he would one day reconnect with her. Fast-forward to February 2012, when Neil made the fateful decision to reactivate his Facebook account, and a simple friend request was all that stood between them.
“It was like being in high school over again, but I knew what I wanted and this time, I intended to pull out all the stops to get it. When we reconnected, it was as if I had found my best friend, my soulmate, my wife, my everything rolled into one,” he shared.
Gradually, the two moved from lengthy online conversations to spending countless hours on the telephone. It wasn’t long before he was sure that she was his, and that it was time for him to do what his heart had always desired. One balmy afternoon in August 2012, Neil forever changed things between them.
“There was no ‘on bended knee’ fairy-tale scenario. He gave me a long lecture about life, what he liked about me, how amazing I am, and his shortcomings. Then he asked for patience, handed me a ring and asked me to marry him! I can truthfully say that I’ve never seen a smile as bright and a face as happy as his until when I said ‘Yes’ that night,” Vassell recalled.
The tranquil environs of Coyaba River Gardens and Mahoe Falls in St Ann provided the idyllic setting for the wedding ceremony, officiated by Pastor Wesley Boynes on December 28, 2013. An instrumental version of Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years filled the bride with a wave of emotions as she walked up the aisle with her father Lloyd Vassell by her side.
“The first thing that came to mind was ‘Do not trip on your dress,’ but my overriding feeling was that of pure happiness and love, as I was marrying my soulmate and best friend. I felt a bit silly to think that when he proposed, just two days after reconnecting on Facebook, that I called him crazy. That day I was so thankful, because his crazy idea had made me the happiest I’ve ever been,” she shared.
