A love founded on respect was celebrated as Gaynel Lauder and Orrett Wellington tied the knot on September 8, 2024 in front of family and friends at The Lavish Palms at 6 Cunningham Avenue in Kingston.

While it has taken them a while to reach this moment in their lives, their love has always been assured even before finally saying “I do”.

Gaynel, a businesswoman, moved from Duhaney Park to Trench Town in 1992, and that decision would set her on the course that would lead to her soulmate Orrett. Gaynel recalled that while most persons at that time “did not look up to Rastafarians”, she immediately saw qualities that made him unique. She loved his industrious nature but also his empathy for the elderly in his community.

“He was the one that always had a business going. He loves the elderly so he would go to work and find money to feed people at the Golden Age Home. Every girl likes a man like that,” Gaynel told Tuesday Style Vows.

She met Orrett, a building contractor, while strolling in her community shortly after she moved. They both shared a mutual friend and as such their interactions would be on and off. Things changed soon after Orrett loaned Gaynel some funds. He also left a package of fruits which included a delicious-looking soursop. It was there that their friendship was cemented and blossomed into a relationship that has spanned decades.

“I always tell my friends that he is not perfect but he is the closest thing to perfect that any woman can get,” Gaynel said.

Their relationship throughout the years yielded three children, but it was in 2021 that they made the decision together to make their union official.

“We didn’t think about what made us decide, because all these years we have been living like a married couple. We just said to ourselves that we can just put it on paper now,” Gaynel said. However, it was how they would celebrate their union that would become the main point of contention. While Gaynel was more than happy with a civil ceremony, Orrett was adamant that they needed to make the event memorable.

“My plan is only to get married once. I believe that if you are going to do anything, you should do it well. You don’t do it halfway,” Orrett said. “So, I didn’t support the concept that she had, because, for somebody like her, you cannot give her anything less than the best.”

After three years of saving and planning, the best was what Gaynel got. Wearing a dress from by Bliss Bridal JA, Gaynel proceeded up the aisle to Gramps Morgan’s
A Woman Like You to finally make it official. After exchanging vows and signing the marriage register, they were pronounced husband and wife by Pastor Shane O’Connor, who officiated the ceremony. The reception was held soon after, at the same venue, with Jermaine Young leading the proceedings as master of ceremonies. The couple then shared their first dance as husband and wife to Andy Grammer’s I Am Yours.

It was a song that Orrett had sent to Gaynel by chance five years ago and has remained a steadfast part of their relationship.

The couple enjoyed the traditional reception toasts and wedding cake, a three-tier fruitcake made by Tiers of Sweetness.

The wedding was planned by FutureventsJa which did the décor and design, while catering was done by The Lavish Palms. It was everything Gaynel and Orrett envisioned and is still the talk of their family and friends.

The Wellingtons were later surprised by their children with a honeymoon at The Royalton Negril Hotel.