The Groom that Almost Wasn't Allowed to Get Married!

Heather & Matthew have been planning their wedding for months! And then, the week of the wedding arrived full of hope & promise.... but quickly became a week full of anxiety and fear - that the Groom would NOT be allowed into Canada to get married! Yup - Matt is an American and apparently there's quite a bit of paperwork involved in getting permission to enter Canada to get married to a Canadian and then live here for a few months! Upon attempting to cross the border on Thursday in order to be here for the rehearsal, he was promptly denied access because of missing paperwork and he was turned back at the border, along with a long list of things he had to do to "prove" that he would indeed return to the USA at the end of the summer.

So, the rehearsal Thursday night was interesting as we were missing the groom and his best man (along with two other groomsmen who we'd already known wouldn't be there). So we had 2 of 6 guys present! Heather held up amazingly well considering she had to practice marrying a "stand-in" for Matt - and considering the uncertainty of whether Matt would actually be allowed to come into Canada to get married on Saturday or not!

Well - thanks to a lot of running around on Matt's part, help from his past employer and even some important help from our local MP David Sweet's office, Matt was permitted to enter Canada and arrived on Friday afternoon - WHEW!!


The wedding day dawned with clear skies and sunny, warm temperatures - perfect for their outdoor tent wedding at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington and their outdoor Barn reception at Dyments' farms in Dundas. Everything fell into place and looked amazing!

And the most important thing is - they ARE married!!! YEAH! Congratulations Heather & Matt!

Ceremony Venue: Rose Gardens Tent, Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington
Ceremony Musician: Hanna Strauss
Officiants: Doug Veenstra & Pastor Jim Pot
Photographer: Katie Button, Dundas
Photo Site: RBG Gardens, Burlington
Reception Venue: Dyment's Farms, Dundas
Caterers: Maitre D' Catering, Burlington
Cake Decorator: Lakeshore Pastry, Burlington
Reception Musicians: Corrie Kessler & Band