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ISLAND WEDDING

Meeting after flight leads to lifelong feelings for Tarik and Karla

Published:Tuesday | October 18, 2022 | 12:05 AMKrysta Anderson/Staff Reporter
Tarik and Karla are simple mesmerized by each other.
Tarik and Karla are simple mesmerized by each other.
On cloud nine, with fiery sparkles to match, Mr and Mrs Mercurius share their first dance as husband and wife to ‘Feels Right’ by Lamar.
On cloud nine, with fiery sparkles to match, Mr and Mrs Mercurius share their first dance as husband and wife to ‘Feels Right’ by Lamar.
The beautiful bride is escorted up the aisle by her handsome groom (left), with the assistance of Tashana Brown Johnston of Blush and Cherish Events.
The beautiful bride is escorted up the aisle by her handsome groom (left), with the assistance of Tashana Brown Johnston of Blush and Cherish Events.
There’s no denying that these two are just ‘coconuts’ for each other.
There’s no denying that these two are just ‘coconuts’ for each other.
Bold in black and gold, the lovely bridal party was honoured to celebrate the nuptials of Mr and Mrs Mercurius.
Bold in black and gold, the lovely bridal party was honoured to celebrate the nuptials of Mr and Mrs Mercurius.
In her husband’s warm embrace, Karla feels safe and loved.
In her husband’s warm embrace, Karla feels safe and loved.
Beside every successful man, is a successful woman encouraging him to be the greatest version of himself.
Beside every successful man, is a successful woman encouraging him to be the greatest version of himself.
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You never know what surprises await at the other end of a vacation. Could it be love? For Karla Soockar, she went from catching a flight on her return to our green shores from The Bahamas in October 2013 to later catching feelings when she met Tarik Mercurius through a mutual friend on that same day.

It was definitely love at first sight for Tarik, but Karla kept calm, cool and collected, all the while intrigued by his confidence and beautiful aura.

“We didn’t have a first date. From the day I met Tarik, we have never separated. We were together every day after that,” she told Island Wedding.

Their first meeting might have initially seemed platonic, but what Karla didn’t know was that their mutual friend had already told Tarik about her.

“My first thought when I saw her was that she is beautiful! Honestly, from the first day I met Karla, I knew she was the one. The light that she radiates is like no other. I wanted to be in a relationship with her, but she wasn’t having that [at the time],” he revealed.

But by January 2014, they began getting serious and Tarik continued to marvel at how beautiful, compassionate, generous, empathetic, and sexy his beloved truly was.

“My wife has taught me to be more empathetic. As an ex-British soldier, that wasn’t really my thing. She has always encouraged me and never made failing feel like I was inadequate,” he declared.

The emotional support she gives, he says, is “unblemished. She is the woman that lets her man show his vulnerability to her comfortably”.

Self-assured, dependable, affectionate, sexy, and patient is the order of the day for Tarik, and it’s never too much or enough for Karla.

“My husband has taught me patience and how to be disciplined in areas of my life that I was struggling with. He always encourages me to be my best self. I was always an anxious person, and he made a safe space for me,” she said.

While Tarik shared his desire for a happy-ever-after from day one, Karla waited around for the sign that he was, in fact, the one. She received it a few weeks later after one of her brothers passed away. “Tarik stood by me and my family, giving his unconditional support. I have never met anyone like him before, and then and there, I knew I didn’t want to lose him,” she added.

Five years would pass while they thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company, growing in love day by day. So Tarik did what any upstanding man in love would do: he asked Karla, the love of his life, to be his wife.

It was her 31st birthday, and he planned a surprise party for her on the local Loose Cannon cruise around Kingston Harbour. While the thought crossed his mind to pop the question on the special occasion, he waited until they were home the next day, where he had planned yet another party.

“In the midst of the party, I stopped the music, went down on one knee and asked Karla to marry me,” he shared. Excited, she said yes, and her status was immediately upgraded to fiancée.

Karla went into action planning her own wedding, down to every single detail. “I know I wanted a big, puffy wedding dress. Initially, I wanted to make my dress but wasn’t sure if I could find someone to pull it off, so I resorted to renting a dress. I started researching until I found LuxBrides Ja, and she was offering exactly what I wanted,” she revealed.

Shying away from the traditional norms, her wedding theme was black, white, and gold. And to execute the nuptials on the day, she enlisted Blush and Cherish Events.

“My actual wedding location was supposed to be Rafting on the Rio Grande in Portland. But we had to change venues due to the ongoing [bad] weather at the time. I chose Hope Gardens because I could have the garden wedding I was opting for, and it could facilitate both the ceremony and reception,” she added.

On September 18, Tarik and Karla joined together in holy matrimony and became husband and wife. Specially invited guests gathered at the Yellow Bandstand Garden at Hope Gardens for the enchantment and were pleased to support their loved ones in their new chapter.

My wedding was everything I hoped for and more. It was executed exactly how I planned it. The best moment for me was our first dance because the song we danced to – Feels Right by Lamar – means a lot to us,” the bride shared.

As for the groom, he had two favourite moments: his wife-to-be walking up the aisle towards him and their first official dance as newlyweds. “While we were dancing, we were looking into each other’s eyes and singing. And that, for me, is a moment in time that I will cherish forever.”

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com