We got married in June, our anniversary is a week after my brother and his wife's! Originally we planned to get married in Negril in August, but then the whole Dudus business started around Labour Day not long after my husband (then fiance) arrived in Jamaica. He was worried that if things got worse, foreigners would be told to leave the island, and he was dead set against going anywhere without me. He said he couldn't be forced to separate from his wife, so we should get married as soon as possible. We did some shopping around for a marriage officer, and finally found one we both liked here in Kingston.
My brother drove over on Friday night, along with one of his best friends who lives in Montego Bay. Together with another couple friends of his, they took hubby out to celebrate his last night of singleness. I told them I had only one rule: they could go wherever they wanted, do whatever they wanted, but they were not to bring him home stinking drunk. I was not marrying a man with a hangover! True to their word, they brought him in around 4 a.m., after going to some nightclub with "exotic" dancers, but very sober.
We did not observe very many of the traditions. He saw my dress before, as I brought it home the week before the wedding from my mother's house, and I washed and ironed it and hung it up in the apartment. Also, my wedding dress was a traditional Korean dress, called a hanbok. It was a gift from my favourite uncle when he was serving in the US Air Force, and I had always said if I got married, I was wearing it.
The Saturday dawned bright and sunny, hooray! I went to do my hair and nails after breakfast, at a salon within walking distance of our apartment. The girls did a marvelous job with my hair, tucking it into a lot of curls like I wanted. Hubby brought me my slippers after I did my pedicure, because I had worn the wrong kind, LOL. As we walked back, my sister-in-law drove in with my mother and niece, and right behind her was my brother and his friends come to collect hubby to go and get dressed.
Us women decided to get pizza for lunch, and that was when things started going haywire. The car got a flat tyre with me and my sis-in-law in a not-so-nice neighbourhood, and we had to call the men to come back and help us with the car. A little boy and a man from the neighbourhood offered to help us, and by the time my brother and company got back to us, they had the tyre almost replaced with the spare. And then we found a crab in the engine. Everyone was standing around it like, WTH?! Anyways, they took it out, we went to get our pizza and I got a Red Stripe Light to settle my nerves. We got a new tyre for the car, also nearby the apartment, and were able to head off to the church with no more issues.
Until we came to the area where the church is, near JC, and I forgot where the turnoff was! My poor sis-in-law, nervous as heck already, almost lost it when I told her I couldn't remember where to go. Anyways, I calmed down, remembered where the turn was, and we got to the church with 10 minutes to spare...only to find out that the groom was running late, hahaha.
After many phone calls between my brother and his wife (best man/giveaway father and matron of honour), we established that they were on their way and would she please get the bride out of sight, haha. So they tucked me away in a little room, and I knew my husband to be had arrived when my brother brought me my bouquet, which hubby picked out for me.
We had a typical Anglican ceremony, except for where we added in personal vows after the traditional "for better, for worse" ones. There were 12 others there with us, including my best friend from HS, she and her husband made it in time for the ceremony.
We took everyone to dinner afterwards at what has now become our favourite restaurant, and then went back to the apartment. My sis-in-law's parting words of advice were, "Ok honey, the one thing every woman needs to know on her wedding night is: Legs up in the air!" :O We sealed our wedding vows that night, and it was wonderful.
I tell my husband all the time that he gave me the wedding I wanted: simple, no fuss, and only the people I love present.