To have and hold: Jason finds the ‘key’ to Bianca’s heart

Signing up for co-curricular activities means engaging in personal growth and development. But, for Bianca Hislop and Jason Morris, it was also the ideal opportunity to connect with others. Before they knew it, they went from being members of Key Club to Jason finding the key to Bianca’s heart years later.

“I first met my wife in high school. I attended St George’s College and she attended Immaculate Conception High School. We met at an event that was held at St George’s,” Jason told Island Wedding.

Initially, Bianca found him to be well-mannered and pleasant. Over time, she also fell in love with his kindness, patience, hard-working nature, thoughtfulness, persistence, and passion. “He literally wears his heart on his sleeve and lends a helping hand to everyone,” she added.

Noting that he has helped her to dig deep to be more aware of triggers and address them as she makes progress, she is grateful for his unwavering love and support.

“He has really taken his time to see us grow on a strong foundation, that is, through Christ. And he ensures that is who is at the centre of our relationship. Also, he reminds me that we are friends first, which gives a sense of comfort, opens the communication between us, and helps us build even stronger as a unit.”

Jason explained that, at first, he was drawn to Bianca’s smile, “Her smile is beautiful and she has an aura that would light up any room.” Despite his feelings of attraction, he never acted on those instincts. He instead formed a wonderful friendship in 2016 and let nature take its course.

“Whenever I was around her, I always had this feeling that I couldn’t explain. I always wondered about taking it further. But I guess women are good at hiding how they feel because I felt like I was friend-zoned,” he said, with a laugh.

Fast-forward to 2022. That was the year everything as they knew it changed forever.

Fresh from heartbreak, Jason ended up in conversation with Bianca’s best friend. She went into matchmaking mode, confessing that her friend had always had feelings for him. This was his moment to approach Bianca the right way and make his true intentions known.

“We met up and I asked her, ‘Have you ever thought about us being more than friends?’ Her answer was ‘Yes, yes, yes!’ Almost like someone who had been holding something in. After that moment, we remained friends and it ultimately blossomed into spending more and more time together,” he shared.

Describing her as humble, honest, driven, kind, and caring, he admitted that, with Bianca, what you see is what you get. “She has no ulterior motive, and she is like that with every and anyone she comes across. She always encourages and supports me as we talk about life, God, our goals, and solutions. Always there to help, she shows me a level of love and care that I’ve never experienced before. And, for that reason, we would always call it a partnership rather than a relationship, because we were working towards being life partners.”

He would always tell people “…any man who gets Bianca as a wife is going to get a good woman,” not knowing that the lucky man he spoke of would be him.

Unable to give a specific date that they became an official couple, he revealed that they just went with the flow and God did the rest, “I just knew she was my person.”

Shy to admit her true feelings at first, she knew they were heading in the direction of a relationship together when they eased right into meeting each other’s family and friends. It helped that their mutual friends were in approval of the love connection.

But then she began receiving hints that Jason was the one for her when he was the first person she saw and hugged after the lockdown period had lifted in 2020. What brought it home even further was a conversation she had with a pastor of that same year.

“A guest pastor had randomly asked me if I’m married and, when I said no, he described my now husband with the same words I would use to describe him over the years, ‘the young man who is like-minded as I am’, and then ended with ‘You’ll just know’. At that point, I knew and instantly saw his name pop up in front of me,” she said.

Six months into connecting and growing in love, the pair decided to upgrade the union to husband and wife.

They did not want a wedding at first, because Bianca, the event planner, knew how much it would take to get everything done, but they were both encouraged by family and decided to have an intimate gathering to celebrate their love. Family members and close friends pitched in to make the nuptial dream a majestic reality.

On Saturday, March 18, Bianca and Jason said ‘I do’ at Family Word and Worship Church in Kingston.

The beautiful bride said the wedding was perfect, “My focus was mainly on the ceremony and sharing my heart at that moment with my husband.”

Flowing into the reception, she was grateful and emotional when she saw her family and friends present. “It was like a dream and it felt so right. The best moment for me was when I could feel all the love from every person in the room. This solidified our union. And knowing God’s hand is in it, which was what we really wanted, that’s why it had to be as intimate as it was,” she reflected.

For the dapper groom, his favourite moment of the wedding day was exchanging vows, “That’s when it really hit me that this is happening. I am truly grateful to have been fortunate enough to marry my best friend.”

The newly-weds shared the first official dance as husband and wife to Lightning by reggae singer Mortimer. “At that moment, I was just so happy and wanted the reception to come and go so I could run off with my husband. But I did enjoy hearing the toasts from our family and friends,” Mrs Morris revealed.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com