From a UTech meet-cute to ‘I do’

Chelsea Johnson and Fabian Parchment have always possessed the essential elements for love. Forged in the heart of innovation, from the beginning these two had an almost cosmic understanding that they belonged together.

In 2016, during their time at the University of Technology (UTech), the couple had a meet-cute worthy of a romantic comedy.

“We met at UTech, in the engineering building,” Fabian began. “I was standing outside the IEEE room talking to some friends. This girl was walking down the hallway with her friend. Seems like she was going to the bathroom and she randomly stopped and asked for a hug. She apparently knew the guy I was talking with, so I guess that made her comfortable enough to ask me for a hug.”

Laughing at her own boldness, Chelsea told Island Wedding, “He was probably thinking this girl is weird. But I had other plans in mind. I had a type, and he fit the description perfectly. All I kept thinking was, wow, this guy feels like a big teddy bear.”

Filled with hope for a chance with this captivating beauty, the couple went on their first date two weeks later.

“It was Valentine’s Day weekend 2016 and the night was young. My best friend at the time wanted to go out for some food and drinks. I lived all the way in Spanish Town, while he was boarding near the campus in Kingston. He was unfamiliar with the restaurants and hotspots, and I wanted to show him a good night out. Our relationship was budding at just two weeks, a nice little night out with friends at Triple Century was the perfect start we needed,” said Chelsea.

Though chaperoned by Chelsea’s best friend, they spent the night singing, holding hands and endearing themselves to one another. While Fabian recounts the evening as ‘magical’, Chelsea was the first to realise that what they had was love.

Sharing the moment, she first uttered those three magic words, she said. “We were lying in his room and randomly a wave of emotions came over me and I closed my eyes and just said it and without hesitation he said I love you, too.

She continued, “I knew I was in love from the day we met, but I couldn’t express all of that to someone I just met. He was just so simple and sweet; and spending time with him, I realised he valued our time together and being with me.”

For Fabian, however, it was her sheer ambition and zest for life that did him in.

“I knew I was in love when we were having a conversation and she shared her dreams, ideas and aspirations with me. In that moment, I knew she might be the one, because I knew she had a plan for her life and that she wanted to be somebody,” he explained.

With seven years of history under their belts, Fabian decided to ask his love to be his wife on Christmas Day in 2022.

“We were supposed to go to Lovers Leap, but because she had so little time to get things done due to being in town for a few days, the plan changed. We always knew we would eventually get married and we were talking about it for a while. On Christmas Day, after a long day of cooking, I held her close and she was coincidentally videoing the interaction. I pulled out a box from my pocket that I had been carrying around for a while and she didn’t notice. I opened it and her face lit up in pure shock. I was nervous and shaking, but she said ‘yes!’ ”

Nine months later, the two tied the knot in an intimate ceremony, planned by Kimesha Stewart from Intimate Weddings JA, at a private beach house in Black River, St Elizabeth.

“My favourite part of the wedding was the reception. We were able to just relax and watch the fruits of our labour and finally get to breathe. We had an intense week leading up to that, and we just spent the time feeling each other’s embrace and feeling safe and secure,” Chelsea mused, recalling her love day.

Now with a lifetime of bliss ahead of them, the pair are setting their sights on starting a family.

Fabian shared, “I’m looking forward to starting a family and starting a life with my best friend.”

Upping the ante just a little bit, Chelsea added, “I look forward to building our empire as a family with the love of my life. He’s my best friend and we have so much to achieve together, not just for ourselves, but for our future babies.”

shanel.lemmie@gleanerjm.com