Navy and Pink Wedding | Omar & Raymond

Omar & Raymond had a whirlwind romance and when they were finally able to get married, they knew exactly what they wanted. Their navy and pink wedding colour palette was brought to life in every aspect of their special day!

GROOM & GROOM: Raymond & Levon “Omar” Darby

WEDDING DATE: December 8th, 2018

LOCATION: Royal York United Church Etobicoke, ON

PHOTOGRAPHY: Rabbat Photography Toronto, ON
“We chose Danielle to photograph our navy and pink wedding because we knew her from Royal York United Church, which helped sponsor us. My favourite photos were the ones we took inside City Hall because it was nice and warm in there, and we look like we are so in love (which of course, we are!). I also loved the group photos inside the church with all of our closest friends. We loved working with Danielle. She always had a big smile on her face and photographed all of the important moments of our wedding day.” – R

COLOUR PALETTE: “We wanted a navy and pink wedding. These were the same colours as Raymond’s mom’s wedding” – O

TELL US YOUR STORY: “We met on social media (Facebook) on October 15, 2014. Levon (whom I call “Omar,” which is his nickname), was in Jamaica and I was in Trinidad. We talked on Facebook for 8 months. When I asked Omar to come to live with me in Trinidad for a better life, he was so happy to join me there, so on June 9, 2015, I bought him a plane ticket. We heard about seeking asylum in Canada, where we would have rights and a much better life as a gay couple. ” – R

Months went by in Trinidad and we got the good news that we could come to Canada! We were both sponsored by Royal York United Church. Our arrival on August 22, 2018, is a day we will never forget. We knew we wanted to get married the first day we met, but we sadly could not get married in Trinidad, as they do not recognize same-sex marriages.

The first day we arrived in Canada, we asked the church and they were delighted to marry us! They even helped us plan the wedding. Raymond is a wedding planner and he chose the colours for the wedding. Thank you for taking the time to read our story. We are so happy to be celebrating our second anniversary in Canada and we just got the fantastic news that Raymond’s 13-year-old daughter is going to come live with us here!” – R&O

BIGGEST CHALLENGE: “The biggest challenge was working on Omar’s train. I had to call my friend Giselle who is a drag queen and wedding planner in Amsterdam, who gave me tips and advice on how to make it.” – R

BEST MEMORY: “Our friend Gabriella, who is also a drag queen performed “And I Am Telling you I Am Not Going” by Jennifer Hudson at our reception in the basement of Royal York United Church.” – R&O

ADVICE, ONE COUPLE TO ANOTHER: “Try and plan your big day in the season that matches the colours you want! It was very hard to find rose pink and dark blue for a December wedding. We wish we had our wedding in the summer when we could have found our colours more easily and of course, we also would have had better weather and more sunshine.”- R&O