Mother-of-bride’s moving tribute
Thursday, June 16 was indeed a great day for the Philip and Hayward families.
I had the distinct pleasure of walking my daughter, Deborah Ismay Philip, down the aisle at St Paul AME Church to give her hand in marriage to my new son-in-law Hilgrove Joseph Hayward.
It was indeed a proud moment for me, as I beamed with the greatest of love and affection to perform such an honour.
Upon reflection, it was indeed an auspicious and memorable occasion.
The church was filled to capacity as all in attendance witnessed the celebration of marriage of my daughter, the last of my seven children to get married.
The wedding party consisted of childhood friends of the bride and the groom, and great-nieces of the bride.
The maid of honour, Eual Weekes, attended primary and high school with the bride.
The best man was Anthony “George” Amory, a longstanding friend of the groom.
The wedding ceremony was officiated by Reverend Judith Gardner.
It was truly a family affair. Mrs Gardner announced there would be a solo, but did not say who the singer would be.
The bride, family members and invited guests were brought to tears when the bride’s mother, Ismay Philip, sang The Lord’s Prayer.
The performance, which was well-executed, kindled great emotions as it was done posthumously; a video retrieved from the family archives. Ismay Philip was my wife for more than 57 years.
One of Bermuda’s renowned mezzo sopranos, she passed away peacefully in August 2005.
Another solo, At Last, was sung by Theresa Williams. After the wedding ceremony, all of the invited guests — close to 350 family members and friends of the bride and groom from here and abroad — attended the jubilant wedding reception at Number Six Shed on Front Street.
The reception room was appropriately adorned with colourful and decorative floral bouquets.
A delectable buffet consisting of traditional Bermudian food was served to all the guests.
The master of ceremonies was Bootsie, the local comedian.
The highlight of the evening was a surprise performance by the New Generation Gombey troupe.
