Vows – The One He Kept For Me
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Many people believe that there are two things which no human being should have to live without: love and music. For this reason they are often intertwined, and it was the love of music that brought anaesthesiologist Melonie Thomas and gospel recording artiste Marvin Edgar together almost five years ago.
“A mutual friend of ours had called a meeting to discuss forming a production company involving musicians, singers, actors, etc. We weren’t immediately attracted to each other, but within two months he was in love. I still had some doubts, but it wasn’t long before I started to feel the same,” Thomas told Vows.
Indeed, their romance blossomed. It was “the epitome of the best fairy-tale love story that has ever been written”, gushed Edgar. With each day spent filled with displays of their affection for each other, they were inseparable.
Fast-forward to Holy Thursday, March 28, 2013. Edgar had gone to visit his love, who had been studying in Nassau, Bahamas, and the couple had made reservations at a restaurant that neither of them had been to before. Thomas was a bit peeved at how long it had taken her beau to get dressed, a fact that had not only delayed their arrival at the eatery, but had dampened her interest in having dessert at the end of their meal.
“We had appetisers, dinner, and then it was time for dessert. He asked if I wanted dessert, but I told him no. He asked if I was sure as they had my favourite [cheesecake], but I still said no. Then the manager of the restaurant came from behind me with a dessert plate and set it before me, saying it was on the house. On the plate was a slice of cheesecake and the ring, but all I saw was the ring,” Thomas recalled.
“Everyone in the restaurant was now looking at us. Marvin got up, sang an original song, gave a speech, then got down on one knee and popped the question. Of course I responded with a resounding ‘Yes!’ The entire restaurant was now cheering for us and congratulating us, and all I could do was laugh,” she continued.
The ceremony — officiated by President of Jamaica Union of Seventh-day Adventists Pastor Everett Brown — took place on December 1, 2013, on the manicured lawns overlooking the golf course at the Caymanas Country Club in St Catherine. Thomas, from whom the choice of music was kept secret, could feel her eyes welling up the moment she heard the voice of her husband-to-be singing his rendition of Maurette Brown Clark’s The One He Kept For Me, as she walked up the aisle.
“I was just so happy, after months of planning and years of obstacles, we had finally made it. I was marrying my best friend, the love of my life, my soulmate, the one God kept for me,” she said.
The couple chose the age-old tradition of tying the knot to symbolise their union. A cord of three strands — representing the bride, the groom, and God — was plaited, as their closest family and friends bore witness. Musical selections by the band Light Switch provided the ultimate soundtrack as they said ‘I do’. The celebration continued into the reception, with the band’s musicians entertaining the guests in an impromptu mini concert.
The Edgars have placed their honeymoon on hold as they focus on starting their own business and adding a few little ones of their own to their family.
