The ‘function’ that led to love and happiness

When Latoya Maitland attended a family function at her cousin’s house in 2010, the last thing she expected to find was love. But a chance encounter with invited guest Naphtali Greaves, a military man back then, sparked a budding romance for Latoya, who soon found herself on an enchanting path for two to happily ever after.

Noticing his cool, polite and friendly nature from the get-go, over time Latoya was in awe of how selfless, helpful, respectful, protective, and family-oriented he is.

“Naphtali is an individual who takes control and soothes all situations, in a respectful and ‘manner-able’ way. He ensures that everyone around him is OK and safe,” she told Island Wedding. Realising that he possessed the majority of the qualities she desired from an ideal spouse, it was only natural that they both boarded this relationship.

“By dating him, I had no option but to raise the bar, or standards, of being a better person; one who is calmer and looks at things and situations from the other person’s perspective. He allows me to be myself without looking for a better version of me; plus, he pushes me to go for what I want in this life,” she revealed.

Seeking her opinion before making any decisions was good enough. But when she underwent oral surgery, her beloved took full responsibility for all aspects of her aftercare. “I didn’t need to go by my mom. He did a super great job,” she added. She knew then and there that he was the one for her.

For Naphtali, he recalled being captivated by Latoya’s beautiful smile. He was also attentive to the fact that she was a nice person. As time grew on, he was introduced to her caring, motivating, patient, hard-working and determined side. And he marvelled at how these qualities appealed to his sensibilities.

“She has allowed me to see that there is always a way to get through situations, and that things will always work out the way they should. She tries to find various literature on relationship and marriage to see how best they can guide or work in our relationship, incorporating the ideal aspects.”

Enjoying happy times of cooking, watching movies and going on adventures together, Naphtali explained that he discovered that she was the one in the face of tragedy.

“The way she helped me to cope with the loss of my father. There are no words. She and her mother integrated and invested themselves in helping me and the rest of the family with preparations for the funeral arrangements. And I can’t thank them enough for being there for us,” he said upon reflection.

Following their four years of courtship, Naphtali decided that it was time he took the necessary steps to make Latoya, Mrs Maitland-Greaves. Here’s how the engagement unfolded: The proposal was a wonderful group effort of family members and friends. The couple, on vacation, celebrated the holidays overseas and the groom-to-be thought it would be the perfect occasion to pop the question. Getting ring size and choice assistance from Latoya’s mother and sister, the ‘Casanova’ moment came after Christmas dinner at her friend’s house. “I wasn’t feeling well, so I was laying on the sofa scrolling through Instagram, when Kemisha called me to take a picture under the Christmas tree,” Latoya explained.

According to Naphtali, “With help of the spirits musical gods, I went down on one knee and proposed.” Surprised, Latoya ran off to the living room, where she was once passing time, trying to gather her thoughts and emotions, With everyone cheering him on, and with tears of joy flowing in her eyes, the bride-to-be said “Yes”.

Intent on creating her wedding vision, Latoya doubled up her efforts as fiancée and wedding planner. She was assisted by her husband and received decor and event coordination from IzmaDesigns by Janice Riley. “The planning was definitely a learning experience for the both of us, one that we enjoyed tremendously,” she said.

The couple chose the wedding location based on the beauty, the convenience for travelling guests and the close proximity to Naphtalli’s childhood community.

On Friday, October 28, Latoya and Naphtali said ‘I do’ at the gorgeous Glistening Waters Restaurant and Marina in Falmouth, Trelawny. The destination wedding saw the stunning bride turning heads and capturing her groom’s heart all over again in her exquisite wedding dress from XG Bridal Shop, located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. By reception, Mrs Maitland-Greaves made her ‘wife entrance’; only this time she was adorned in a second dress, designed locally by Draped In T’anna.

“The wedding was wonderful. It was perfect; small and intimate, and the decor was gorgeous. The best moment, for me, was when we were pronounced husband and wife, I got super emotional,” the bride remarked. As for the groom, who shared similar ceremonial sentiment, that one of her favourite moments was the sand ceremony, “...as it signifies union, two becoming one”.

The newly-weds basked in the bliss of happily ever after, sharing the first dance as husband and wife to Calum Scott’s hit song, You Are The Reason.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com