A day to remember
This week, Vows invites you to witness the nuptials of Winsome Walker and Sean MockYen. The two were wed in style at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel before an assembly of family and friends. Reverend Conrad Reid conducted the ceremony.
Winsome and Sean’s love story began 10 years ago at the University of the West Indies (Mona Campus), where Winsome was a bank teller at the NCB branch. Sean, a customer of the bank, would see her on a regular basis and thought she was very attractive. He was, however, reluctant to make an approach. “She would never smile,” he says. One day, Sean came into the bank with a friend who he knew was also acquainted with Winsome. Winsome acknowledged the friend with a broad smile. Sean was further smitten and throwing caution to the wind stepped up and said hello as well; Winsome kept on smiling.
Of course, marriage did not become an immediate item on their “to-do list”. They decided to step back and take a break from each other. It was during this separation, however, that both realised how much they cherished being together. The topic of marriage came up, a few plans were made, but nothing materialised. The timing never seemed right. It would take some outside perspective to get things rolling: Winsome’s father, Vernon Walker, while visiting Jamaica from overseas, realised that Sean was an ideal partner for his daughter, and he ensured that concrete plans were put in place.
Sean and Winsome’s wedding was a stylish and colourful affair, the bride taking credit for the execution of the colourful décor (she got help from her sister, sister-in-law and nephew; the groom and groomsmen were on hand to deliver help in the form of manpower).
The setting for the ceremony — the poolside at the Terra Nova — was pure elegance. The white styling complete with white table covers, draped chairs and a white carpet that flowed up the aisle. A breezy white tent was transformed into an altar with buttons of white roses bunched together dotting the tent.
The décor served as a contrasting backdrop to the vibrant ensembles worn by the bridal party. The bride opted for a spring theme, a theme that presented itself most opulently in the look of the bridesmaids’ dresses. Maid of honour Audrey Stennett stunned in a sunshine-coloured gown; Suliann Pinnock (daughter of the bride) shimmered in jade; Rosemarie Bryan (sister of the bride) charmed in her petunia dress while Toni-Ann Osbourne wowed in vibrant persimmon. Michelle Whitely was perfectly demure in green. The groomsmen looked dapper in their white tuxes from Beautiful Brides and Mr Tux. Their suits were accented with shirts that corresponded with the colours of the bridesmaids’ dresses. The groom wore an ivory-coloured tuxedo from Calvin Klein, while the bride was a study in perfection in her gown from the Alfred Angelo 2010 collection. The dress featured a form-fitting bodice with embellishments at the bust, which gave way to a full skirt with overlapping tiers. The beautiful dress was all at once elegant and playful, feminine but modern. The bridesmaids carried bouquets composed of casablancas, spider lilies, roses, baby’s breath and orchids. The bride carried a lovely bouquet of hydrangea and roses.
The three-tiered wedding cake, created by Mrs Ditta Barnes of Barnes Pastries in Linstead, depicted a garden-like theme in colours of yellow, green and white, complete with butterflies made from icing adorning the cake.
The spirit of Sean and Winsome’s wedding, like the spring theme on which it was based, was brimming with the prospect of hope, joy, promise and beauty. The deep commitment shared by the couple was evident throughout the ceremony. For their first dance, they chose Natalie Cole’s This Will Be an Everlasting Love. And in the midst of the ceremony, the two added another dimension to lay the foundation for celebrating their years together through a “letter and wine box ceremony”. The bride and groom wrote letters, affirming why each loved the other and why each decided to get married. The letters (unread) were placed in a box, along with a glass of wine. And there they will stay locked away until the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary when each will in turn share the contents of their respective letters over glasses of wine poured from the five-year-old bottle of wine.
“The letters are to remind ourselves of that special day,” explained the bride. “And with God as our guiding force, we will repeat this cycle every five years.”
Photos by Aston Spaulding
CAPTION
Newly Weds (cover)
A day to remember
First Dance
Can you feel the love? Sean and Winsome share their first dance as a married couple.
Mr and Mrs MockYen
The happy couple holding hands.
We did it
The future truly looks bright for these lovebirds.
Bride & Bridemaids
the bride and her maids make for a beautiful cast. From left: Toni-Ann Osbourne, Michelle Whitely, Rosemarie Bryan, Winsome MockYen, Audrey Stennett and Suliann Pinnock.
Gorgeous
The bride stunned in her Alfred Angelo gown.
Bridesmaid
The bridesmaids’ dresses reflect the colours of spring.
Groom & groomsmen
The couple flanked by their groomsmen. From left: Sean Ffrench, Ryan Williams, Sean and Winsome MockYen, Kwasi Tinglin, Jordan Ariza (son of the bride) and Nicholas Betty.
Grooms Family
The couple flanked by the groom’s family. From left: Chantal Hylton Tonnes, Gloria Ramsay, Alma MockYen ( the groom’s mother), Sean and Winsome MockYen, Mike Vendryes, L’Antoinette Stines, Robert Capleton and Leonie Forbes (the groom’s godmother).
Wine & Letterbox
The newly-weds wrote love letters to each other which will be locked away in a box with wine and not opened for five years.
