The essence of love and affection permeated the air on Saturday August 27 when Cordelia Su Mei Philip and Justin Randolph Sousa exchanged their wedding vows. The wedding ceremony was conducted in a rather intimate setting at “Margoa”, the residence of the groom, amid the panoramic views overlooking Harrington Sound. A small and intimate gathering inclusive of family and close personal friends witnessed the solemn occasion.

The maid of honour was Cara Philip, the cousin of the bride and, the best man, Peter Sousa Jr, the only brother of the groom. The exchange of vows was officiated by the godfather of the groom and close personal family friend of two decades, the Reverend Dwight Knight, co-founder and executive director of Challenge Ministries International headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.

Upon the exchange of their wedding vows, the bride and groom were fêted at a sumptuous reception at the Newstead Belmont Hill Hotel located on Harbour Road, Paget, with 150 invited guests in attendance.

There was a toast offered up by the bride’s father in which he gave a rather eloquent and spirit-filled speech, thus articulating his genuine consent to the solemnisation of the marriage between Cordelia and Justin.

The union between Justin and Cordelia personifies the multicultural background of their two families and is so reflective and representative of Bermudian society. The groom’s father is a Portuguese descendant and the bride’s mother is of Chinese-Malaysian origin.

The bride and groom have been longstanding friends since their childhood, and together attended both primary and high school at Warwick Academy where they first met in P3.

Eventually, they spent the last two years of high school together in the International Baccalaureate Programme and began formally dating in the spring of 2011.

Cordelia is the only daughter of Anthony and Michelle Philip (and of course, she is my highly esteemed granddaughter).

Her father is the former president, CEO of American International Group Bermuda (AIG), and her mother is the former legal counsel of HSBC Bermuda. Cordelia is also a 2015 graduate of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, with a BA in Economics.

She is employed as a graduate trainee at the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

Justin is the son of Peter and Italian Sousa.

His father is the chief executive officer of the Pension Commission, and his mother is the president, CEO of Infinity Travel Ltd. Justin is also a 2015 graduate of Tampa University, Florida, with a BSc (Hons) degree in Finance and is employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers where he is pursuing his professional designations as a CPA /FCA. The bride and groom are spending their honeymoon in Iceland and Denmark.