‘Arresting’ proposal leads to holy matrimony

It wasn’t love at first sight for Halona Williams and Shamar Baker, but it seemed, as friends, they were a match made in heaven. The love story began with both Halona and Shamar being colleagues. Shamar was Halona’ coach, and they communicated each day. Their constant dialogue there sparked an interest between both parties.

But Shamar was smitten by Halona’s grace, style and beauty. Despite the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, when most people let their guard down, Shamar said Halona was always immaculate in her grooming and attire and stood out.

“Before I got to know her, she was so beautiful. She carried herself elegantly and [with class]. She had a standard greater than the rest. She stood out from the crowd, and that is what drew me to her. Our friendship gradually grew while we communicated on a daily basis. I would literally ‘stalk’ her social media pages just to get a glimpse of who I was talking to. I wanted to know everything about her,” Shamar said.

On the other hand, Halona thought Shamar was intelligent, and dressed well. She was also attracted to him, but as colleagues, they sought to remain as friends. However, Shamar made the first move by inviting Halona to follow his social media page, which she accepted. Outside of work, both were communicating, and gradually their friendship grew into a blossoming relationship.

“We dated until June 16, 2021, when we made it official that we were a couple. He asked if I would be his girlfriend and I said ‘Yes!’ He was very supportive of me, and I had prayed that I would find a man to love me and love God. My prayers were answered,” Halona said.

Their relationship wasn’t smooth sailing as they had anticipated. There were several bumps and curves on the way, and a juncture where they thought everything had come to an end. However, they both worked on themselves and decided to address their concerns and eventually reignited the flame that burned even brighter afterwards.

Shamar wanted to make things right, and on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2022, he and Halona’s sister pulled off a devilish prank on Halona that left her speechless. “I set the expectations for her to expect that something big was going to happen. She thought she was going to a fancy restaurant on the Palisadoes. On our way, we were pulled over by the police, and we pretended that I would be taken away by them for a traffic offence,” Shamar said.

“Halona started crying profusely as the police put me in the back of the police vehicle. However, when I came out of the car, she realised it was a prank. I went down on one knee and asked her to marry me. Her reaction will stay with me for a lifetime. Apart from our wedding day, this was one of the happiest days of my life,” Shamar said.

For months later, after much planning and preparation, Halona and Shamar got married in a gold-and-burgundy-themed wedding that took place at the Hope Botanic Gardens in St Andrew. “We decided to make things right. One year and one day after our relationship began, we knew we wanted to be together for the rest of our lives. We got married on June 17, 2022.”

With the theme for their wedding being ‘The Last One’, both of them decided that they would be the last partner for each other. “I am the last of 11 siblings for my parents, Eva Francis-Williams and David Williams, and I am also the last one to get married. This was definitely a defining moment for us,” Halona said.

It was a beautiful wedding day for both, surrounded by 80 of their close relatives and friends. “It was nerve-racking for me. This was my first wedding. I had never been to a wedding before, and being the groom made it even more difficult to adjust,” Shamar said.

However, Halona was unaware of the nerves raging through Shamar’s body, as she described his reaction to seeing her walking down the aisle as priceless. “His reaction made me cry. I did not want to mess up my make-up, and of course, my mother told me to stop crying as we walked down the aisle. I would relive this day every day, and I would get married to him again,” she said.

Shamar and Halona are enjoying the blissful moments following their wedding. There are plans for children in the future, but for now, they want to continue growing, loving and being there for each other.

“I want to thank Udel Christopher, Shamar’s mother, and Shanique Robinson, his sister, for raising such a wonderful human being. He is a fantastic individual, and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with him,” Halona said.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com