Adele met Antoin at Hewanorra Airport in Saint Lucia. After a brief mix-up with their suitcases at the baggage reclaim carousel, their chance encounter became the start of a relationship, which even led to their wedding in Saint Lucia several years later.
Some couples start new relationships with a fair amount of baggage, but in our case, it began because of it, and I mean that quite literally. Yes, two identical lightweight red wheely cases, brimming with bikinis in one, and best man attire in the other, were the reason our worlds collided. After seeing what I believed to be my bag exiting Hewanorra Airport on the arm of a fellow passenger, I ran as fast as my flip flops could carry me, only to discover that the distinct, and seemingly not so unique bag was indeed his, with mine still doing lonesome laps of the carousel. Despite being flustered and a little embarrassed, this handsome and charismatic man invited me to join him for dinner that evening, and as they say, “the rest is history”.
Yes, our hearts may have said hello in Hewanorra, but our souls met in Soufrière.
From then on, we were, and still are inseparable. We shared a holiday romance that lasted long after the departure lounge and we will be forever grateful for our chance encounter in Saint Lucia. Those first dreamy days spent walking hand in hand on the beach and dining under the stars, while Antoin entertained me with funny anecdotes of his friends and practised his witty wedding speech, are forever etched in my memory. How apt it now seems that we returned later for him to deliver another wedding speech to me, but only this time as a groom to his bride.
In front of 50 of our nearest and dearest, under an arch of tropical flowers against the backdrop of a waterfall, we exchanged our vows. Much like the cascading water behind us, we fell deeply in love, not just with each other, but also with this magical island.
A boutique hideaway on the hillside has become our ‘honeymoon’ holiday hotspot that we regularly return to and has repeatedly been the perfect place for us to relax and reconnect. Waking each morning to the sounds of the rainforest carried on a balmy breeze through our window has never gotten old. Nor has the warm welcome of the familiar faces greeting us in our favourite restaurants, as we indulge our cravings for salt fish and callaloo soup, or the scenic trails of The Diamond Botanical Garden that we’ve strolled together countless times.
It’s in these moments of being together that we’ve found true happiness, not just with each other but with the place, the people, and the paradise that is Saint Lucia.
