Groom: André Wilfred Holder, 32, Civil Engineer
Wedding Date: April 30, 2011
Wedding Location: Barbados
Wedding Style: Tropical Elegance
A Love For All Ages
“Though André will claim no recollection, he and I first met casually when we were quite young, perhaps 13 years old,” says Kaelie. It’s not hard to imagine this scenario. They were kids growing up on the island of Barbados at the time. Their formal introduction, however, was much later on down the road in life, and it came with a little help from a mutual friend of theirs named Josea. André and Josea shared an apartment in downtown Toronto when André was attending the University of Toronto. Josea and Kaelie were extremely close even though she was still attending high school back in Barbados. Kaelie must have mentioned once or twice that she thought Josea’s housemate was pretty cute, because when it came time for Kaelie’s graduation, Josea set them up on their first date.
They had a blast and spent the summer before Kaelie went off to attend Howard University going on lots of dates and getting to know each other better. There was definitely something there. They decided to stick to friendship rather than getting involved in a long distance relationship, but their chemistry stood the test of time. Kaelie is quite the globetrotter, having lived in Korea, Nigeria and now Australia for her work. She and André always kept in touch. Even though she changed addresses quite often, one thing remained the same throughout the years – the bond they shared.
When One Wedding Leads to Another
Fast forward to December 2009, when Kaelie and André, who were officially a couple at that point, traveled to the tiny island of Canouan in the Grenadines to attend the wedding of her close friends from her Howard University days. She was living in Australia and André was based in Washington, D.C. It had been four months since they last saw each other. After the wedding, André planned a fun-filled day of romance for them to enjoy. They sailed around the islands of the Grenadines, snorkeled, and swam with the turtles. (How sweet?) They ended the day on a romantic high note with a sweet dinner beneath a gazebo on the water. André had outdone himself, Kaelie thought. That is until he whipped out his final surprise, just before dessert – an engagement ring! He had swept her right off her feet. Share their love.
Photos: Magical Moment Photography