On the ‘Edghill’ of romance, love blooms

It was a night that Mouricia Morris would cherish forever. She was celebrating her 29th birthday and had recently received her master’s degree in business administration. So it came as no surprise that her beloved, Darren Edghill, would invite their closest and dearest friends to commemorate those special events with her. What she didn’t know was that there was a third reason for the occasion: the opportunity to ask her, the love of his life, to be his wife.

“We decided to go around the table and give toasts to the birthday girl. My toast was last, and after speaking about her milestone and the accomplishment, I started talking about why I love her, why she means a lot to me, and why I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and then I popped the question,” Darren told Island Wedding.

The heart-warming proposal sent a surprised Mouricia into a corner in tears, leaving her beloved waiting on bended knee for her answer. She was able to regain her composure with the help of friends. “When she eventually came back to me, she was able to accept my proposal and relieve me of the agonising knee pain I had sustained in the delay,” he added with a loving smile.

FIRST MEETING

Imagine laying eyes on ‘the one’ for the first time and never exchanging a word. Mouricia and Darren initially crossed paths at church in 2014. At no time did these soul mates correspond with each other. There was, however, a greater hand at play, and six years later, the pair made a connection on social media.

“When we first met, I thought he was very accomplished for his age and extremely handsome,” she told Island Wedding. But upon getting to know him, she discovered that Darren was also a man of his word. “I am a handful and he still decided to marry me. He is very patient. The love he has for his mother shows me that he will treat his wife and family with genuine love,” she added.

Darren admitted to being physically attracted to Mouricia at first, but he was quickly entranced by her beauty and intellect as well. He discovered that she was also caring, punctual, fun, and loving.

“She is very supportive in all aspects of my life and always encourages me to come out of my shell and discover my full potential. She has nurtured the relationship by giving a listening ear in difficult times and is always willing to provide advice when needed,” he said.

The pair had a joyous first date, filled with laughter, at Blue Window at The Jamaica Pegasus. Soon, they were embarking on a relationship four months later in July 2020. And if that wasn’t serious enough, Darren moved from Barbados to live in Jamaica so he could be closer to his heartbeat.

Mouricia shared that they enjoy ministering in song together. He plays the keyboard and she sings. Outside of that, she loves how driven and forward thinking he is. “He always wants us to push ourselves to be examples for those around us and for our future children.”

For Darren, it’s all about spending quality time at home. That way, they are free to let their guard down and be fun and playful with each other. Knowing that she was the one was a no brainer for him because “experiencing her genuine loving and caring personality first hand is amazing. She will go out of her way to make sure that those who she loves are all right”.

Two and a half years into their courtship, Darren decided it was the ideal time to make Mouricia his bride.

Their friend, Khadine Green, played an integral role in the planning and coordination of the wedding: she was also the one who suggested the location. Bringing their nuptial vision to life was Nadene Jones, a close family friend.

When it came time to say yes to the wedding dress, the bride-to-be had a general idea of the look without any specific design in mind, “When I tried the dress from Helen G Bridal, I knew it was the one.”

On April 9, love birds Darren and Mouricia joined hearts in holy matrimony at a private residence located at Manor Park in Constant Spring, St Andrew.

The handsome groom, decked in classic black and white, was captivated by his beautiful bride, who wore an exquisite layered ball gown. The bridal party wore flowing peach and red and suited grey with pops of red and peach.

“The entire day was very emotional with a flurry of tears from both the bride and groom’s family. The best moment for me was seeing my bride have her last dance with her dad. I know she loves her father very much, and it was just amazing to see her hold her father and dance with him as tears streamed down her face. Seeing this reminded me of the great responsibility I was about to take on as a husband and a future father,” the groom pointed out.

His goal is to love his wife unconditionally and give her all of him, “… so that when our future children see how daddy loves mommy and them, they will understand what it means to love and will settle for nothing less when their time comes.”

For Mouricia, the wedding was perfect, “more than we could ever dream of”.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com