Love on Valentine’s Day
“Love, true love, will follow you forever.” — The Princess Bride
The date was February 14, 2000 — celebrated the world over as the most romantic day of the year, Valentine’s Day. The place? The steps of a courthouse in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. Michael Shaw and Cherina Hill became husband and wife before a marriage officer and two witnesses. The love they shared did not need a grand declaration. It was already clear to all who could see that these two were meant to be.
They had met a year earlier, under slightly odd circumstances, during their first week at college.
“We were in freshman seminar together. I noticed her sitting right in front of me, but I never spoke to her. Then, about two days later, during class, I don’t know if maybe she had partied a little too hard the night before, but somehow she fell asleep on my hand. And throughout the whole class period I just let her sleep. I know, I could’ve just moved my hand, and people always ask me why I didn’t. I guess I figured she must have needed her sleep more than I needed my hand,” Michael told Vows.
The two would often run into each other on campus, but neither approached the other until one fateful campus party. A conversation between Hill and Shaw’s best friend led to an exchange of contact numbers. When Michael’s phone rang two weeks later, he was surprised to find Cherina on the other end. They were wed within a year.
“She proposed to me, actually, and I said ‘No’ the first time. I thought maybe we weren’t ready for that step, but once she makes up her mind there’s no stopping her, and after about a month of thinking it over I decided to give it a shot. Our rings were probably a step above Cracker Jack rings,” Michael recalled.
After 14 years and four wonderful children, Mr and Mrs Michael Shaw — now a telecommunications supervisor and teacher respectively — decided it was time to not only reaffirm their commitment as husband and wife, but to have the wedding ceremony they had always dreamed of.
“We knew we wanted to get married in the Caribbean. We considered all of our options carefully, and we always kept coming back to Jamaica. There’s just something about the scenery, the culture, the people, the food, that makes the whole island so appealing,” said Cherina.
Their desire to experience the authentic, off-the-beaten-path Jamaica led them to the idyllic, 18-acre private white sand beach cove Strawberry Fields Together in Robin’s Bay, St Mary, and on February 14, 2014, history repeated itself for the Shaws. Albeit this time on a cliff, overlooking the ocean, with the wind in their hair, and their closest friends and family as their witnesses.
Despite having already been married, Cherina could hardly hide her jitters as she walked up the aisle towards her husband, with an instrumental of Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years by The Piano Guys playing in the background and her father Anthony Hill by her side.
Pastor Andre John officiated the nuptials, which commenced with the recital of a ‘memory poem’ by three of the Shaws’ four children. The ‘prayer of hands’ — a ritual that honours the ancient tradition of hand-fasting — followed. The bride and groom took hands, right-to-right and left-to-left, a gesture that from above forms the infinity symbol.
At the altar Michael expressed his undying love and appreciation for his rock, Cherina, and thanked her for a wonderful 14 years of marriage. The bride, fighting back tears, reminded him that he was the best thing that ever happened to her and promised to stick by him through good times and bad.
“You are more than my better half, you are my heart and my soul and the heart of my soul. As sure as the sun sets and the stars shine, I will love you forever,” she said.
The pair ‘jumped the broom’ as a symbol of their new beginning, taking their first steps as the reaffirmed Mr and Mrs Michael Shaw while Chrisette Michele’s Love is You punctuated their steps down the aisle. The setting sun gave way to a radiant full moon, its reflection casting a silvery shimmer on the ocean below.
Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds introduced the couple at their reception, where guests dined on an exquisite menu of Jamaican fare prepared by chef Stephen Hamilton of Eskay Catering. Memorable moments continued with local band Black As Cole’s performance of Chrisette Michele’s A Couple of Forevers for their ‘first’ dance as husband and wife.
The honeymoon, took the form of a family vacation at the picturesque Strawberry Fields Together. There were also trips to the southern and eastern coasts.
