Vows – The Wright Love Story

“Now I’ve got you in my space

I won’t let go of you

Got you shackled in my embrace

I’m latching on to you.”

— Latch by Sam Smith

How they met…

Fiona Panton was initially reluctant to divulge her phone number when engineer Tarik Wright asked. The year was 2012, and the two strangers were enjoying an evening lyme at Hope Gardens when mutual friend Dr Trudy-Ann Morrison introduced them.

Panton, an account manager at Columbus Business Solutions at the time, made a lasting impression on Wright, whose persuasive skills eventually gained him Panton’s number.

Panton and Wright bonded over their love of good food, which led them to East Japanese Restaurant in The Market Place for their first date. Three months of casually dating and exploring Kingston’s bourgeoning restaurant scene inspired Wright to plan a weekend trip for two to New York City.

It was Valentine’s Day and reservations were made at Del Frisco’s Steakhouse in Manhattan. Wright remembered an important detail from their previous conversations: Del Frisco’s was actually Panton’s favourite restaurant. The couple left the restaurant that night and New York City later that weekend knowing they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.

The Engagement…

One year later, on February 8th, Wright and Panton found themselves back at Del Frisco’s in Manhattan. Panton suspected nothing of the special dinner and was utterly surprised when Wright proposed. Her response was given in a New York minute: yes!

The Ceremony…

One hundred and fifty of the couple’s family and friends gathered at the Chapel of the University of the West Indies, Mona for their wedding.

As the stirring sounds of All We Ask by gospel singer Donnie McClurkin filled the chapel, heads turned to the beautiful bride being escorted up the aisle by her mother, Sybil Panton, and sister, Cordia Panton-Williams.

The bride wore a strapless Vera Wang ivory ball gown as her wedding dress, complemented by a bouquet of white roses adorned with sparkling gems. At the altar, the groom awaited his bride in a classic black tuxedo from J Crew.

The three bridesmaids styled in strapless blue dresses, while the two maids of honour, Dr Trudy-Ann Morrison and Sanya Duggan, wore one-shoulder designs from the Miami-based boutique, David’s Bridal. The three groomsmen wore tuxes from Beautiful Brides & Mr Tux to match the elegant groom. The groom’s father, Dalton Wright, took on the role of best man.

Fiona Panton became Mrs Tarik Wright in a traditional Christian ceremony led by Pastors Dennis Kerr and Bobby Wilmot. Pastor Wilmot officially declared the couple husband and wife in front of cheering family and friends.

The Cocktail Hour…

Guests arrived at the lower level of the scenic Struan Castle Garden in Stony Hill for the reception, which commenced with a signature Blue Curaçao and mint lemonade cocktail, specially crafted by the multi-award-winning Jacqui Tyson of From Thought to Finish, to complement the wedding’s navy and crystal scheme.

While the newly-weds were kept busy with wedding photo duties, Carl Lee and his band entertained the attendees as they mingled and sampled From Thought to Finish’s tasty treats. A makeshift photobooth station was installed for family and friends to memorialise the special day.

The Reception…

Formalities took place on the upper level of Struan Castle. The bride’s sister, Cordia Panton-Williams, assisted wedding planners From Thought to Finish in transforming the location into the navy and crystal dream wedding the couple had imagined.

The evening’s master of ceremonies, Peter Abrikian, announced the arrival of the bridal party and introduced the newly-weds as Mr and Mrs Wright before kicking off a mini-dance session. Once the guests were seated, caterer Jacqui Tyson took guests through the three-course menu enjoyed against the musical styling of Becky DePass.

The newly-weds’ personal cupid, maid of honour Dr Trudy-Ann Morrison, kicked off the toasts by raising a glass to the couple’s love. The second maid of honour, Sanya Duggan, took charge of the bride’s toast, followed by Dalton Wright, father of the groom, and David Panton, brother of the bride, responsible for the toast to the groom and the mother of the bride, respectively.

Hand in hand, the bride and groom then made their way to the centre of the dance floor for their first dance to the accoustic version of Sam Smith’s Latch. Formalities out of the way, MC Peter Abrikian engaged the guests in various interactive games.

The bride’s most memorable game was a couples-trivia which required the newly-weds to sit back-to-back while holding one of their shoes in one hand, and that of their spouse in the other. To indicate their response, the couple raised the shoe belonging to the person to which the question pertained.

The festivities continued throughout the night with guests taking to the dance floor where they partied until midnight.

The newly-weds honeymooned on a seven-day Royal Caribbean Cruise with calls in the US Virgin Islands, St Maarten and The Bahamas.