The wedding of Ikhwan and Alicia Rafeek, nee Sarjoo, in August 2009 could definitely be considered different. Ikhwan is an attorney, while Alicia is a certified public accountant. The Rafeeks were both born in the United States, but they have a West Indian background. Both the bride and grooms family hail from Guyana, the only South American country whose official language is English. The countryabout the size of Great Britainis located on the northern coast of the continent, and bordered by Venezuela to its west, Suriname on the east, and Brazil to its south.

Although both have similar backgrounds, the Rafeeks did not meet until they were introduced by a mutual friend at Baruch College, a branch of the City University of New York. The Rafeeks certainly had a romantic first date: Ikhwan wined and dined Alicia at The View, a revolving restaurant located inside the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. Ikhwan and Alicia dated for five years before they were wed in August. He picked the high seas to pop the question. Alicia went on a cruise with my family, he said. I proposed to her on the back of the ship during sunset. It was the day the ship had a captains reception when men dress in suits and women in dresses. I got down on one knee and presented the ring. My whole family was watching from a level above. They all starting clapping and cheering after she said Yes. So it was both a private moment and a public moment.