Cheers to a lifetime of love with the Faceys

In romantic relations, what does ‘one thing led to another’ and ‘before they knew it’ have in common? Enter Kristen McKenzie and Steven Facey. The lovebirds first crossed paths in the same friends circle at university. After a casual encounter on a boardwalk, Kristen saw Steven sitting alone one day and went over to speak to him. Lighthearted banter, a bus ride and a subsequent exchange of numbers later, the two soon talked their way into love.

“When he was around, I thought he was really quiet until we went to get him the smoothie on the boardwalk. When he had my friend and I on both arms, he started singing, ‘Happy Birthday to me’ and I thought he was ‘kinda’ funny, different from the Facey I usually saw,” Kristen explained to Island Wedding.

Steven, who first saw Kristen as a cute and genuinely chill person, revealed that their connection was built on the foundation of friendship. But he discovered, along the way, that he would speak their relationship into being.

“My younger sister saw us together one day and asked if she was my girlfriend. I said ‘nah’ and her reply was that it looked like it. I started to make slip ups here and there where I would start calling her my girlfriend when we were out. Eventually, we went on a trip and we decided we would give it our best shot,” he said.

He and his sister weren’t the only ones with that love goal in mind. Friends at school played Cupid, declaring them a couple long before it was official.

As members of the University of the West Indies Panoridim Steel Orchestra, an annual summer Lyme saw a bandmate asking when they were planning on becoming a couple.

“Someone asked when we were going to get together. I told them I didn’t know. I met up with Steven and told him what the person said and he asked, ‘So do you want to do it, be together?’ Right there on the beach overlooking the ocean with rum cream in hand, we decided to go into a relationship,” she recalled.

Kristen is not only beautiful, brilliant and adventurous in Steven’s eyes, this foodie also has a loving and clumsy side that he can’t help but adore.

“She is extremely organised and detailed and so I am steadily adopting these traits. It has helped me to grow in my career and life. She is supportive. And when she isn’t busy making new dishes, she is introducing me to different restaurants,” he added.

With his kind, sincere, considerate, silly and trustworthy nature, Steven has been her biggest motivator over the years, “Whether it’s finding a job, going back to school or starting a new hobby he always encouraged me to go for it. I don’t think I’d have done all I’ve done without his encouragement.”

Always assuring that he’s there for her, she is able to openly converse with him because of the established comfort, “I think that consistent reassurance nurtured the relationship.”

Outside of road trips, both are fans of anime and movies. The pair do practically everything together.

Seeing Kristen as someone he wanted to go through successes and rough patches with, he purchased her ring in July of 2022, after seven years of courtship. While the plan was to propose to her the following month on her birthday, he saved it for the holidays.

“We went to dinner with friends on her birthday. But at some point, I felt like this was a dead giveaway. I wanted her to be surprised and I knew she was expecting it. I came up with a plan to take her out on New Year’s Eve and then propose. But again, I felt like that would be a dead giveaway. So I proposed on Christmas Day after her family dinner,” he said.

Kristen recounted the romantic gesture like it was yesterday. “We were alone lying down and recounting the day when he handed me a box. I assumed it was a pendant or earrings or something so I was vigorously shaking the box, trying to figure it out. I opened it to see a ring and by the time I turned around to ask him what’s going on, he was on one knee.”

After saying yes, the newly engaged couple planned the wedding of their dreams with the help of family, friends and expert wedding planning company, Taylord Events. The décor element gave nothing but a majestic moment, courtesy of Izma Designs.

On October 13, 2023, Kristen and Steven laid their hearts on the table and were joined in holy matrimony at the University of the West Indies Chapel on Mona Campus in St Andrew. They extended the celebration to a reception at the Terra Nova Hotel in the same parish.

“Our wedding exceeded my expectations. Our décor was breathtaking, our guests were amazing and I was happy to marry my person. The best moment for me was walking up the aisle and seeing Steven cry. He denies it to this day, and for months prior, he had been saying that he’s sorry but he doesn’t see himself crying and he hopes that when he doesn’t do it, I won’t [feel] hurt. So to see him actually cry made me happy,” the blushing bride reflected.

For the groom, his favourite moment came at an unlikely segment of the wedding. “When the pastor asked if anyone objects to the union, I turned around on some, ‘I bet any of you to speak and see’ attitude. To my surprise, my bride turned around with me, her eyes sharp and cold, depicting, ‘no one was going to object to the union’.”

To seal their union, the newly-weds shared an incredible first dance as husband and wife to the reggae track, Lightning by Mortimer. “At that moment, I felt calm and happy. We were both just in sync and just grateful to be together,” Mrs Facey added.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com