Vows: #TheMajesticUnion
When visa analyst at the Canadian Visa Application Centre Matthew Gayle met Danielle Forbes, media personnel at the Worship and Faith International Fellowship, they knew it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. Indeed the friendship blossomed into something more beautiful — love — and on December 10, 2016 at Alterry Beach, St Ann, the two sealed the union. Vows meets them at the altar.
Their love story, as told by Danielle
“We grew up in the same church, Members in Christ Assemblies. There was no form of interaction for several years, until one day Matthew came up to me and asked me why I didn’t like him. That question started a prolonged conversation and we eventually became good friends.
“We were friends for several years, then he asked me to be his girlfriend in 2013. Our relationship went through many trials but we also had a lot of great moments. We both knew we wanted to get married; we just didn’t know when was the right time. Matthew asked my father for my hand in marriage in February 2016, and he approved.
“There were two events that rocked our families later that year. My father died on February 27 and Matthew’s mother died on June 11. These tragedies made our relationship so much stronger and made us closer to God.
“We thought about postponing our wedding after Matthew had proposed, but our families urged us to continue with our plans. We set an official date for December 10, 2016.”
The proposal
The proposal was a complete surprise for Danielle. Under the ruse of a celebratory dinner for Matthew’s best friend, Pier, whose birthday was on August 28, 2016, the three travelled to Strawberry Hill Hotel. After a lovely dinner, Matthew popped the question. A shocked bride-to-be burst into tears before finally replying “Yes”.
The Ceremony
The ceremony was the icing on the cake for Danielle, who had just graduated from the University of Technology (UTech) in November with a BA in Communication Arts and Technology. The couple, along with friends and family, gathered at Alterry Beach in Priory, St Ann for their majestic union. The opulent beach theme featured unique décor colours of marine blue, yellow and white handled by Simone Muirhead and Marva Hylton.
The bridesmaids made their way up the aisle to KC & Jojo’s This Very Moment, dressed in long, marine blue A-line dresses, all made by Lois Forbes, finished with royal blue gems around the waist, gold hair accessories and jewellery and custom gold sandals by Cici Sandals. The maid of honour wore a long chiffon dress. The groomsmen all wore marine blue suits with marine blue bow ties with the best man in a yellow bow tie. The groom dressed in an off-white jacket and shirt with marine blue pants and bow tie courtesy of Enigma in Mall Plaza, Kingston awaited his bride.
Danielle, stunning in a white, strapless, layered, ruffled mermaid dress with sweetheart neckline and lace bodice puchased online at Lightinthebox.com and escorted by her mother, made her way up the aisle to the strains of Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years. She was the epitome of sophistication clutching a bouquet of yellow and white roses with baby’s breath. The ceremony was officiated by the groom’s father, Pastor Derrick Gayle. Throughout the ceremony, guests shared photos on social media using the hashtag #THEMAJESTICUNION.
The Reception
One of the buildings at the Alterry Beach was decorated with gold centrepieces, white water beads and blue LED lights for the couple’s reception. The bridal party entered to Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars’s Uptown Funk where the fun began with a “kissing rally”.
Dinner, a sumptious spread by Raymond Richards followed.
Formalities included toasts, the cutting of the wedding cake, a three-tiered blue, yellow and white fruit and carrot cake by Evette McIntosh-Dillon. The couple ended the night by releasing blue and yellow floating lanterns that were signed by the bridal party, and partying with their guests on the beach.
The honeymoon
The newly-weds spent their honeymoon at Paradise L’Horizon located at the Mammee Bay Estate. The couple also went to Mystic Mountain in Ocho Rios and participated in all the activities.
