Vows: Happily ever after…
When Carmencita Whonder, owner of luxury fashion brand OF WHONDER, and Augustine Saylee, proprietor of New York-based bakery, Cake 145, exchanged wedding vows on October 17, 2015, they had already shared several years of warm companionship. Some 100 guests and personnel of New York-based quarterly wedding magazine The Knot witnessed the ceremony, many recording the images with their cameras. Vows unravels the island fairy tale which took place at the Trident Castle and Hotel in Portland, Jamaica.
“I never believed in fairy tales, yet I found myself getting married in a castle.” —Carmencita Whonder
The initial encounter, as told by Carmencita…
For seven years I was a frequent guest at the London Hotel, New York City. My schedule was interrupted in 2013, which left me unable to visit for six months. During this time, Augustine Saylee joined the team as ambassador for the hotel. I made it back during the fall of 2013 only to discover that my room was not available. This was a first in my seven years of visiting the property. As I sat in the lobby, Augustine came up to me and offered to help. I felt a spark immediately, which I like to say was ‘electric at first sight’. Although it was against the rules we agreed to meet for breakfast the following day… and just like that we were on our first date and never looked back.
A year later we were clearly in love and I knew he was planning to propose on his 40th birthday. On the evening of September 20, however, we attended a Luke James concert at the Hamilton in Washington, DC, where, stirred by James’ love songs, Augustine decided not to wait two more months. He proposed there and then with the music blaring in the background. I thought he was joking. Then to prove it was no joke, he went down on one knee. I said ‘yes’ so he wouldn’t make a scene. Believe or not, I don’t like attention. But I knew this was right and that ‘yes’ was the only answer. We called my family as soon as we walked out.
The lesson I learned from this and which I share with my girlfriends is: Never get mad when {your} room isn’t ready at a hotel – you never know what surprise God has in store for you while you wait.
The destination
The couple chose a destination wedding in Jamaica
“Our wedding was held at the Trident Castle in Port Antonio, Jamaica”, shared Carmencita. “ We are Jamaican and wanted to get married on our beloved island, but also wanted to create an experience that was different and new. Trident Castle is the only castle on the island, so that is different. Port Antonio is on the north east coast of the island and we are from the opposite coast and had never spent time in that area — that was something new and, might I add, very blue because it sits right on the ocean”.
Here comes the bride
Carmencita and Augustine wanted clean lines so they asked the Luxe International team to use mostly candles to frame the ceremony area. It was very romantic. The Luxe team also built a beautiful altar made of candles in the Grand Room of the castle. Mindful of their spirituality and Christian faith, full advantage was taken of a small chapel on the property to hold a private family prayer, which was led by the bride’s 94-year-old grandmother immediately following the ceremony. The wedding ceremony was officiated by Reverend Delroy Farr.
The couple opted to skip the practice of the traditional bridal party and instead asked the gents to come elegantly attired in classic black tuxedos and the ladies in full-length formal gowns. This they did and made a formidable statement as they arrived to the strains of Louis Armstrong’s
What a Wonderful World.
Carmencita describes her bridegroom…
I know all the talk is about Idris Elba becoming the first black James Bond, but I think Augustine may have beat him to it. Like Daniel Craig in the movie
Skyfall, Augustine wore a custom-tailored midnight blue Tom Ford tuxedo with a black grosgrain shawl lapel. His look was bold and elegant.
… My turn…
I was escorted up the aisle by my mother Faith Gordon. The music selected for our walk was
Endless Love by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie. My Tai Flora Luxe bouquet was exquisite and comprised deep blue anemones along with white peonies, white garden roses and roses.
My gown
I knew it wouldn’t be easy to find that perfect gown for my special day as my dress size falls outside of the traditional bridal range. Fortunately, I own a luxury fashion brand. At OF WHONDER, making my wedding gown was a true labour of love. I set out to find the finest Parisian lace that spoke to my contemporary and vintage sensibilities. I settled on an ivory and gold floral metallic lace and designed an abstract yet whimsical beading pattern to cover every inch of the outer lace gown. We worked with beaders in India for several months to achieve the perfect design. To be worn underneath what I like to call my bridal armour, we created a slip dress made of silk charmeuse in wedding white. The slip dress was a beautiful sleeveless gown with a slight flare that could have been worn on its own. However, I opted to wear both all evening because while less is usually more for me, this day more was definitely more.
Despite the dense beadwork, my wedding gown appeared as light as air. This was our first bridal piece designed at OF WHONDER and it was more than I dreamed of. My gown’s timeless silhouette that showed off my hourglass shape, perfectly married my modern style with my love of old-world glamour.
Wedding gifts for our guests….
We just love food, so to greet our guests we gave them a slice of Jamaica in the form of miniature rum cakes from Augustine’s company, Cake 145.
At the wedding ceremony, we gave our guests a popular spice of the island. To the world, jerk spices are native to Jamaica, but to Jamaicans, jerk is native to Portland. To pay tribute to the area where we chose to marry and to acknowledge one of our favourite restaurants, Scotchie’s, we sent everyone home with a beautifully designed bottle of Scotchie’s jerk sauce from Topp in Designz, based in Jamaica
The reception
The garden space of the castle was transformed by the team of Tai Flora Luxe and Luxe Fete International into a wonderland of hues of the couple’s favourite colours. The tablescape was draped in midnight blue and bedecked with bouquets of white peonies, roses, garden roses and antique silverware accented by the garden’s naturally lush greenery.
Guests entered the reception to the sounds of the Silver Birds Steel Pan Drum Band ahead of taking their seats for a sumptuous lobster dinner, catered by the Trident Hotel, which closed with banana flambés flavoured with rum.
Formalities followed, including the couple’s first dance as husband and wife to Harlem-based jazz musician, Some’s
Ginger Me Slowly. The song represents the couple’s mutual desire to enliven each other for all the days of their life in small and big ways. The cutting of the five-tiered fruitcake, iced with fondant and brushed in gold with sugar anemones by Sage Cakes, followed.
Post-dinner, DC-based DJ Huck Finn kept the guests entertained with rock, reggae and old hits. In the middle of the party, the newly-weds surprised guests with a musical performance from Jamaican Grammy-award winning artiste, Freddie McGregor. Backed by a full band, he sang all of his hits from
Big Ship toMy Jamaican Girl, as well as some of the bride’s favourites from his catalogue.
Happily ever after…
One day was not enough to spend celebrating with their friends who were housed at GeeJam and Trident, so a special three-day event was organised which included a grand brunch the morning after the wedding. This was followed by a three-hour scenic raft ride down the Rio Grande.
Carmencita and Augustine’s wedding appeared in the Fall 2016 issue of
The Knot.
