September 20, was a very special day for Michael Orrett and Desreen Williams. At 3 p.m., inside the Ocho Rios Seventh-day Adventist church in St Ann, they became one in a ceremony officiated by Pastor Gary Fletcher. The reception followed at Holiday Haven, in Runaway Bay, St Ann. About 130 family and friends attended the burnt-orange- and sage-themed wedding.

The Beginning

The events leading up to this moment began when Desreen was 12 years old and Michael was 22. He was a very close friend of her older brothers as his father, who owned a local boxing gym, taught his sons and Desreen's four older brothers the art of boxing.

Michael and his brothers visited her family home on a regular basis, and Desreen would stand behind the door and stare at him through the cracks. They never actually spoke or met. By the time she was 15, she would constantly dream of him and wake in the middle of the night to write him love letters. She would then hide them under her mattress. She kept them and he never knew how she felt.

Sadly, Michael went to Canada and it would be 10 years before she saw him again. But she never stopped thinking about him and writing her letters. They met for the first time in February of 1997, when he returned home. After performing at a gospel concert in her home town of Bamboo, he came over to greet her mother, whom he had not seen in a decade. Desreen was dressed in a very nice, modest white dress, which took his breath away (to date he still remembers and talks about that dress). As soon as she saw him, she felt the same way she did when she was 12. She knew right then, that he was her soul-mate, and they would spend the rest of their lives together.

The Ceremony

Breaking with tradition, the bride sang her way up the aisle to her husband. She sang, "I am so in love with you", by U.N.V. He had no idea she would be singing.

She wore a very beautiful gown from Beautiful Brides and Mr Tux and her bridesmaids wore burnt-orange dresses with sweetheart neckline.

The groom looked debonair in his white suit, with an orange and green corsage. His best man was his best friend of 29 years, Troy Chung, who wore a black suit with sage shirt and matching accents. The couple's son, three-year-old, Mikhail Maliq Orrett, was the ring bearer and he wore white to complement his father. The couple wrote their own vows.

After the ceremony, they went to visit Orrett's mother Kathleen, who was ill and not able to make the wedding. She was dressed and waiting for them. They took pictures with her.

The Reception

Michael Anthony Cuffe was the master of ceremonies at the reception. He kept the guests entertained in his cool, smooth, and charismatic style.

The reception hall was elegantly decorated by Marcia Riley.

Another twist to this non-traditional wedding is that the tables were labelled with words instead of numbers, they were: Kathleen and Miriam, for the mothers of the bride and groom and the others were: Love, Joy, Honesty, Prosperity, Understanding, Commitment, Happiness, Loyalty, Harmony, Hope, Unity and Peace. All of these have significant meaning to the couple and symbolise their dreams and aspirations.

The groom's reply lasted for 25 minutes. It was filled with praises for his gorgeous wife.

He spoke of the significance of the labels on the tables and what it meant to them, and he recalled the first time they met and their first date.

It was a fairy-tale wedding, a dream come true and a memorable occasion for all.

To get your wedding published in Flair, send details with captioned pictures to:lifestyle@gleanerjm.com.

Desreen and Michael Orrett cutting their wedding cake.

Desreen and Michael Orrett with the groom's mother Kathleen Orrett.

Michael Orrett and his bride Desreen, with the bride's mother Miriam Williams.