le mariage

This was a big weekend and the main reason I wanted to stick around this summer: my cousin Bethany got to marry to her French love, Louis. As to be expected, it was a gorgeous wedding. The smell of fresh lilacs filled the air as they said their vows in St. Thomas', downtown.

It was different for me to witness an Anglican wedding. In fact, I was thinking to myself that it reminded me of a relaxed version of the Royal wedding, with some differences of course. Although the majority of the ceremony was in English, they included some French as well, and their siblings had a special role in the service. Her brother read an excerpt from her favourite book, The Little Prince/Le Petit Prince while his sister read 1 Corinthians 13 in French. Yeah, I teared up a lot.

The reception was held at the GEO Centre. We enjoyed hors d'oeuvres in the atrium, then moved on to our seats downstairs. I loved their emcee. I'm instantly smitten with anyone who speaks with an accent, so it was pretty much a guarantee that I would enjoy their French friend in charge of the evening. The speeches made me cry; Uncle Sam's emotional words, her two best friends Jana and Robyn, and in hearing the best man speeches about the groom my heart swelled for Bethany for finding herself such a good man.

 I think the funnest part of the whole evening was having Mr. Vokey come in to introduce all of the foreigners to a bit of Newfoundland culture. There were a couple dozen friends that had travelled all the way from Quebec, France, Poland and Germany. We sang traditional songs, taught some key phrases and at the end screeched them all in! I learned that this very man helped invent the screech in tradition, so it was extra special to experience his entertaining stories in person. His son now carries on the tradition at Christian's Pub.   

Once again, another beautiful wedding. But I think I've had my fill for the rest of this year though! Glaaary.