Patrice Parris, executive officer of Big Brothers and Big Sisters, has been nominated by the ruling party Smith's North's branch organisation to be that district's electoral candidate.

But she will miss two weeks of canvassing because she'll be on her honeymoon cruise. Yesterday the woman Jennifer Smith once described as her “secret weapon” made it clear that she was not about to let the elections get in the way of her wedding and honeymoon plans, but said she hoped Smith's North voters would understand.

Ms Parris, who served as a Government Senator for the Progressive Labour Party's (PLP) first term in office, confirmed that she was returned unopposed at a candidate selection meeting Wednesday night and cautioned that the decision was yet to be ratified by the party hierarchy.

She will likely be contesting against the United Bermuda Party's (UBP) Allan Marshall. Her wedding plans had been set “months ago” she told this newspaper, and making changes now is out of the question.

Ms Parris marries Stuart Minors, a 49-year-old middle manager at the Bermuda Land Development Company (BLDC), next Saturday. The couple, who met a year ago, head off the same day for a two-week cruise to an undisclosed location.

“I will return in time for the election,” she said. “I will miss some valuable time of hitting the streets and meeting the people but I am hopeful that the mechanism will be in place and operational prior to my return and it will be implemented and used even before I leave because I'm hoping to get in some canvassing prior to my departure.”

She and fianc? Stuart Minors have completed all the wedding arrangements, she said. She acknowledged that there might “quite possibly” be some negative fallout as a result of missing two weeks of canvassing. “But to be quite honest the wedding will happen… In light of the fact the election has been called the wedding date will proceed. My desire to marry Stuart Minors is not even on the same level as my desire to be a valuable candidate to the PLP. And that's not to say I'm not loyal and committed to the party but I'm not considering making any changes to my wedding plans.”

She added: “I am hoping those within the constituency will be sensitive to this step I'm making in my life and that they are receptive and understanding. My soon-to-be husband is very supportive and appreciates that, on my return, I will be busy with canvassing.”

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