As long as it takes - The McKenzies' story

Tracy-Ann Wedderburn and Brodrick McKenzie's journey down the aisle began on the first day at Meadowbrook High School.

"I knew Tracy was the one for me from the first day I entered Meadowbrook High School because she stood out to me," Brodrick told Flair. "She was very quiet, reserved, but very attractive, with the most amazing voice. That was the first thing I fell in love with - her voice, along with her gaze-grabbing physique."

Tracy-Ann admits that though they became very close friends, academic pressures had them focused on school instead of a relationship, and after high school, they completely lost contact. "I thought he was engaging, articulate, and very intelligent, but school was my main priority at the time," recalled Tracy-Ann.

But to their surprise, Cupid was about to strike again. In 2002, Brodrick stood outside a phone booth in Golden Spring waiting to make a call when the woman of his dreams stepped out and stole his heart all over again. There was no separating them this time. All the feelings they had came rushing back.

"The feelings became more intense as we became friends again. Her shy, friendly, caring, and magnetic personality gets me every time. She would surprise me at work with lunch, and we met often at Devon House, and as time went by, I was falling deeply in love with her. I remember clearly the first time I visited her house - I was feeling a bit ill and she offered to make me soup. It was the best-tasting soup I've ever had. It was at that moment I thought, I have to marry this woman," Brodrick expressed.

Tracy-Ann, however, did not make it easy for him. In 2002, Brodrick was ready to marry the love of his life, but to his disappointment, Tracy-Ann declined. This did not stop him from loving her, but he knew he had to work hard to earn her trust and allay her fears about marriage and that he did.

"It was worth the wait," he said.

According to Tracy-Ann, "He was disappointed when I didn't accept, but never discouraged. He decided to wait for as long as it would take. Seeing his perseverance, determination and how deeply devoted he has been over the years, I finally realised that our marriage with God as the head would be a success if we were determined and worked hard at it."

A Proposal Like No Other

After 15 years, Brodrick had already decided Tracy-Ann was the one for him. So in February he told her to set a date. "It was nothing close to romantic," Tracy-Ann revealed. "Before the proposal, it was very clear to us that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, so it was no surprise when he told me to set the date."

At the time of the proposal, Tracy-Ann was in her final year of law school, and had no time to invest in planning a wedding. Being the supportive man he is, Brodrick took on the planning in the initial stages. One day as he browsed through Facebook, he saw a Blissful Wedding Package advertised by Futurevents Ja.

"Upon meeting Julian Hylton, I was drawn to her inviting and engaging personality. She made us feel so safe (as we were clueless) and with that, we immediately decided she was the one to take care of our wedding. With every problem we perceived, Julian had more than one solution."

Brodrick finally saw the love of his life walk down the aisle on October 16 at Straun Castle Gardens, in Stony Hill, St Andrew.

The wedding ceremony and reception was beautiful as the two hearts became one. The next day, the newlyweds continued celebrating their togetherness at the Grand Palladium Hotel.

"There have been rough patches over the years, but Brodrick stood by me through it all and I knew he found me to be the right person for him when he declared both in words and actions that there's no one else in this world for him."