Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Samuels enjoy a warm embrace after tying the knot at the Holy Trinity Church, Montego Bay, on Saturday, November 11. - Photos by Claudine Housen/Staff Photographer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Saturday, November 11, saw the coming together of two souls when Michael Vaughn Anthony Samuels and Christine Ann Margaret Thompson tied the knot before family and a host of well-wishers at the Holy Trinity Church, Montego Bay.

Michael Samuels is the son of Kingston-based businessman Copeland Samuels and his wife Hyacinth, owners and managers of Economic Maintenance Limited. Christine Thompson-Samuels is the daughter of retired health administrator, Edburn Thompson, and his wife Hyacinth.

Punctual ceremony

Styled by Paulette Henry, the chapel featured orange and fuchsia accents topped off with baby's breath flowers and calla lilies, the wedding ceremony - one of the most punctual I have seen yet - started shortly after 3:00 p.m. when the anxious groom, dressed in black Armani suit, arrived almost breathless from being delayed in traffic.

Moments later, his beautiful bride, the picture of serenity, emerged on the arm of her father, her eyes focused on her husband-to-be at the end of the aisle. Having been proposed to at Trident Castle in Portland, she looked the part of the princess in a white Lazaro wedding dress with a beaded bodice, a ruffle-tiered, a-line skirt and a chapel train. A white veil, something borrowed, completed the ensemble, along with Stewart Weitzman shoes.

The nuptial, which included kneeling at the altar and a sand ceremony, was officiated by Archdeacon Hollis P. Lynch, rector, and Reverend Dr. Neville DeSouza, retired bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

After the ceremony the bride and groom were whisked away to the Half Moon Hotel's Pavilion, whose manicured lawns and fountains became the perfect backdrop for sunset photos and an intimate reception.

Later, when The Sunday Gleaner asked the groom what he loved most about his wife he replied, "She makes me a much better person. I am a better person because I know her and I found out today that I had no idea that I loved her as much as I do."