The Mesquitas are meant to be

Growing up together, attending the King’s Gate United Church, to exchanging vows just minutes from where they first met, is as full circle as this love story gets. Although Sean Mesquita and Jahmai Paul had both been active in church events over the years, it wasn’t until 2024 that they started spending more time together. After Sunday service, Sean would tag along with Jahmai to the supermarket, and soon their friendship went beyond church.

Things began to shift for Sean when he noticed Jahmai’s resilience, something that stood out to him on a group hiking trip at Holywell Park.

“Jahmai wasn’t feeling well, but you could never tell she was by the way she climbed the hill, leading the pack on a number of inclines, and that stood out to me, a woman that pushed through in spite of the challenge,” he told Island Wedding.

Although distance was a bit of an issue, Jahmai explained that, “Sean was in Kingston and I was in Portmore and more often than not, he’d be the one to come by and leave late at night even when [he was] tired.”

For Jahmai, Sean’s quiet confidence and steadfast beliefs drew her in. His caring, attentive nature toward her and his loved ones made her take notice.

She acknowledged, “He isn’t loud or pushy but is clear on what he does and does not stand for. Not only does that make him attractive but he is quite a handsome and God-fearing man. What more could a girl ask for?”

Moving beyond friendship, in July last year, Jahmai and Sean began dating and agreed to read through the Bible together. This brought a new level of transparency between them. As time passed, Sean fell for an understanding, fun, resourceful, and caring Jahmai, while she fell in love with his gentle spirit and big heart.

Their first date revealed their shared love of food and laughter. They spent the evening at The Coppers restaurant in Kingston, talking, taking photos, and making memories – though Sean’s attempt to keep it a surprise didn’t quite work out.

“[I] sent an image showing the restaurant’s rules and didn’t realise that the restaurant’s name was on it. But I didn’t know until she revealed it to me after,” Sean recalled.

Sean explained when he knew that he was going to marry Jahmai, stating, “[It was] after a series of prayer and fasting, then realising how much more we shared in common, and just seeing a number of things pointing to her as ‘the one’ God had intended for me.”

WILL YOU MARRY ME?

The day Sean would ask for her hand in marriage finally came on Thursday, February 20.

Throughout their relationship, Jahmai’s close friends – her “chosen family” – had also become Sean’s allies, so naturally they helped with the planning. To set the scene, they needed to get her to a friend’s home and used the excuse of borrowing a trestle table.

Unlike the first date, Jahmai was clueless to the planning, recalling, “[It] did not seem suspicious at the time. So I had to lift this table and put it in the car, all to know there was no need for it.”

Decorating the living room in gold and white petals, with roses from Sean arranged on the couch and gold ‘Will You Marry Me?’ balloons, they dimmed the lights, played soft music, and let warm ambient lighting from a YouTube video glow on the television.

Excited to start the next chapter, in the moment, Sean admitted, “I just want[ed] everything to come together, which thanks be to God it did. I was a bit nervous, but at the same time more focused on watching the cue for when I needed to open that door and step out to my future bride”.

Playing it off like another usual meet-up. Her friends chatted with Jahmai at the door while Sean waited in another room, ready to pop the question.

When she opened the door and saw the scene before her, she playfully closed it, then reopened it and stepped inside with a smile. In the living room, Sean got down on one knee and asked her to marry him, and she said yes.

FROM ‘MISS’ TO ‘MRS’

All of the moments had led to this day at The Courtleigh Hotel and Suites. Officiated by Reverend Dr Dave Hazle, the pair sealed their forever on July 20, becoming Mr and Mrs Mesquita.

Jahmai, receiving stellar bride-to-be treatment and support from her bridal party, didn’t have to worry about anything on the day; she just focused on tying the knot with Sean, who was also escorted onto the property like a celebrity.

The blushing bride walked down the aisle to Sidney’s God Really Knew in an ivory off-the-shoulder sweetheart neckline dress from Bliss Bridal Boutique.

Jahmai sweetly shared her favourite intimate moments of the ceremony with her husband, “[I enjoyed ] our little bickering and those knowing looks only we understood that made us snicker or burst out laughing!”

Remaining on location, the couple’s reception was catered and emcee Damion Radcliffe led the proceedings. The event was filled with funny and unforgettable moments, starting with the couple’s entrance.

A comical nod to their surname Mesquita – often pronounced by Jamaicans as ‘mosquito’ – they entered to Dennis Alcapone’s Mosquito One followed by Spyro’s Stand by You. For their first dance, which Jahmai said “embodied everything about our journey together,” they danced to Teddy Swims’ 2025 single, God Went Crazy.

ruth-ann.briscoe@gleanerjm.com