Serendipity

With social media, there’s no telling where sharing a post can take you. For Gleneice Smith and Jovhaun Ellis, it was this defining moment of serendipity that clicked from ‘like’ to love, before subscribing these hearts to holy matrimony three years later.

“We met on Instagram on March 28, 2020. I saw a gospel video and reposted it. Apparently, he was a friend of one of my friends so he saw the post,” she told Island Wedding.

Jovhaun replied to her saying that was his ‘bro’. This was only the beginning of something wonderful. A handshake emoji progressed to texted conversation via WhatsApp. And by November of that year, the two were meeting face-to-face.

“When I met him face-to-face, I was like ‘then he looks soooo young eee’,” she said with a laugh. He chimed in and shared his first in-person impression, “Deh girl here short eee man.” Appearance aside, the pair couldn’t deny that they enjoyed each other’s company.

The following year, they went on their first official date to YS Falls in St Elizabeth for Jovhaun’s birthday. “It was an amazing experience,” Gleneice revealed, adding that she was happy to finally have someone to do road karaoke with and be her authentic self around.

But there was no rushing to the relationship department. In fact, Gleneice would hint on several occasions that she didn’t want to board that couple’s cruise. The captain of this love boat, however, had his heart set in his quest to sail off into the sunset with her by his side. “After being turned down several times, she finally said yes and made me really happy,” he added.

Describing her partner in love as determined, devoted, prayerful, expressive and musically inclined, she explained that just by knowing him has changed her view of men for the better. “After experiencing repeated abuse in my past, I appreciate that I can now feel safe around the opposing gender. He has taught me to communicate verbally. I am used to texting my feelings and writing out my thoughts through poems, stories, and songs and I am usually scared of talking. He has, however, created a safe environment where I learn to say what I feel,” she said.

Jovhaun is as much a man of action as he is of words, freely expressing his deep feelings. “He openly says ‘I love you Gleneice’. He speaks in affirmations and prays over the mornings before we depart for work, allowing God to teach him how to treat our relationship and that has been our foundation.”

As he got to know Gleneice better, Jovhaun grew fascinated by how beautiful, humble, selfless, involved, fun and regal his darling is. “Her personality is both a calm and peaceful one; her surroundings neither break her nor hype her up. Her attitude towards people is outstandingly respectful. She works in the medical field and her love for people is commendable. As an all-rounder, she functions as an event planner, songwriter, author, youth leader, mentor and a teacher, whether in church, at work, or for charity.”

Any trip was an adventure worth exploring with his energy queen, for he saw her as royalty and treated her accordingly, “She has helped me to be a lot more organised and efficient, with the aid of reminders. It’s like I found a missing piece of a puzzle, my rib.”

Together, they enjoy doing everything together: taking long drives, cooking, sleeping, singing, making music, going on church trips, attending concerts, daydreaming of travelling the world, shopping, planning, and the list goes on. “There is this beach I take her to. It’s not a swimming type of beach but I get her the hot wings she likes and take her there to clear her head after a long day,” Jovhaun added.

After courting for two and a half years and realising that he couldn’t see his life without Gleneice in it, he made the bold move of asking the love of his life to be his wife.

“Our friend was planning on leaving the island for a few days so we were planning a small dinner and I told the friend I don’t know how I’ll go about asking the question just yet. We came up with the idea of doing it at the same restaurant just before we eat. We called some of our friends and it went perfectly thereafter,” he highlighted.

The planning princess, who agreed to marry her prince charming, went to work spearheading the wedding process behind the scenes. “We had our PowerPoint presentation, Word documents, and our scrapbook planner. After months of planning and praying, the wedding of our liking was a reality. I had the support of family and friends, but the best support was that of my husband. Having our ideas down on paper allowed us to put up a positive united front when we shared it with others.”

As for the nuptial apparel, the bride-to-be said yes to her dream dress, courtesy of CW BRIDALS, who welcomed the idea and brought it to a stunning reality.

On May 13, Gleneice and Jovhaun tied the knot in a beautiful wedding ceremony at March Pen Road Pentecostal Church, Spanish Town, St Catherine. The newly-weds opted for no official reception. They instead extended the service at the same location, where specially invited guests were able to partake in their meals and celebrate the journey of the happily wedded couple.

“The wedding was magnificent,” the beautiful bride said, despite running behind on time. “The day was different and unique. The best moment for me was marching in. Everyone was so happy and my husband looked extremely ecstatic,” she pointed out.

As for the dapper groom, the wedding was perfect in his eyes; more than he could ever imagine. Reflecting on the day’s event, his best moment was sharing their first official dance as husband and wife to The One He Kept for Me by Maurette Brown Clark. “It was like we were the only persons in the church; like we were floating freely on cloud nine.”

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com