Kirsten & Brian’s Canadian Wedding

Phil from Give us a Goo Photography shares this fabulous Canadian-Irish wedding of Kirsten and Brian with us.

How we met

Where and when:

April 2007 at an interview for an internship with the organisation Brian works for.

First impressions:

Kirsten: From the moment I met Brian, he seemed like such a kind and caring person. Even though he was technically my boss, we were always more like good friends and it felt like I’d known him my whole life.

Brian: When I first met Kirsten I was struck immediately by how smiley and bubbly she is she has a great personality and seemed immediately like someone I could really get on with. Of course, it didn’t escape my notice that she is a very good looking woman!

First date:

June 22, 2007 after work drinks at Grogan’s Pub, Dublin.

Kirsten: I was still new to Dublin and didn’t really know anybody, so I thought I’d ask around the office and see if anyone wanted to go for drinks after work. Brian was the only one free, so we went and sat outside Grogan’s, and ended up chatting til the wee hours of the morning. He walked me all the way back to my apartment, and we had our first kiss on the rooftop garden.

The Proposal

April 25, 2009, at Ballyknocken House & Cookery School, Ballyknocken, Co. Wicklow. We were down in Wicklow for a weekend away, and had finished a cooking lesson on how to make Spanish tapas. Because we’d been able to taste everything we’d just made, we were feeling a bit stuffed, so Brian suggested we go for a walk in the hills behind the house. We were on our way back down when we stopped at a clearing overlooking the valley. Brian said I have something for you to read and it was a list of 25 reasons why I love you. The last one read I love you because you probably have no idea I’m about to… and I looked up just in time to see him get down on one knee, with a beautiful ring.

The Big Day

What we were thinking:

Kirsten: I was surprisingly calm, just wandering around my grandmother’s house (where we were getting ready), drinking coffee. Even though we had photographers, videographers, makeup artists and a hairstylist there, it never seemed chaotic. It wasn’t until I was driving to the venue with my Dad that I started thinking This is it! and then I got really excited.

Brian: I was a mix of calm and nerves very calm and excited to be marrying my best friend and for the day that we were about to have. And nervous because, well, I’ve never been married before! So I was slightly on edge, didn’t eat anything that morning paced back and forth a lot luckily it was over 30 degrees before noon, so one of the things I got to do to distract myself before I got ready was go for a swim. All in all though I was excited to see Kirsten and have a great day with family and friends.

Before I walked down the aisle, I:

Looked over at my Dad, who gave my hand a squeeze and said Ready for this? I said Yep! and smiled all the way up the aisle.

When we first saw each other:

Kirsten: Brian looked so happy that I just kept smiling. Although I felt bad, because it was 38 degrees outside and Brian and his brothers had been standing in the sun waiting for the ceremony to start!

Brian: I thought Kirsten looked beautiful elegant, stunning. She was smiling like mad, and her Dad had her by the arm. I was thinking Here we are, after all the preparation and madness, this is what it’s all about’.

Our wedding was held at Linden Gardens, in Kaleden, BC, Canada.  It’s about a 5 hour drive from Vancouver, where Kirsten is from, and is close to where her grandmother lives.  We chose the gardens so we could have a beautiful outdoor ceremony – on our wedding day it was 38 degrees, but shady and cool thanks to all the plants and flowers!

Our wedding day was actually in two parts – the Canadian legal ceremony, and a Celtic blessing back in Ireland, as we wanted to accommodate our friends and family who weren’t able to travel.  We also flew our Irish photographer Phil (Voon, of Give us a Goo Photography) over to Canada – remarkably it worked out much cheaper that way!

Your music:

Processional The Book of Love, Peter Gabriel
Signing the registry Music for a Found Harmonium and Linus & Lucy
Recessional Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Queen

First dance Rainbow Connection, Willie Nelson
Dance with parents You are the sunshine of my life, Stevie Wonder

Funniest moment:

Kirsten: Watching everyone dance after dinner. They were all really getting into it, and it was so great to watch!

Brian: Walking in on my younger brother as he was trying to finish his best man speech, he shrieked slightly and crumpled up the paper. I think he was more nervous than me!

Most emotional moment:

Kirsten: Definitely the readings or the speeches. Everyone got a bit choked up, which always sets me off!

Brian: Had to be when Kirsten was walking up the aisle with her Dad, and when we were exchanging vows, that was really a lump in the throat’ moment.

Most surprising moment:

Kirsten: The day went way too quickly! That, or learning that in the middle of saying our vows, a duck had landed in the middle of the aisle and started walking up toward us! And only about 2 people noticed!

Brian: How quickly the day went, and when it ended we felt like we needed a few more hours, that we were only starting to relax and the night was over!

Most magical moment:

Kirsten: Our first dance feeling like we were the only two people in the universe. And later, walking through the gardens, lit up by fairy lights, and looking up at the millions of stars above us.

Brian: Dancing with Kirsten in the first dance, and I really enjoyed the speeches everyone made.

Any other memories from The Big Day:

Kirsten: Just being so happy all day… that we were surrounded by friends and family who had come to celebrate the start of our new life together.

Brian: I think one really great memory was the way that the Irish crowd took to the dance floor with a vengeance after the first dance. If we had any fears that people would be slow to get up to dance they were dispelled immediately by the Irish (mainly my family) throwing shapes and flinging each other around the dance floor. Some of the Canadians joined in immediately but I think some of the others were a bit taken aback!

One tip for brides-to-be:

Your wedding is a day for you and your husband-to-be. You have to be true to yourselves and do exactly what will make you both happy. Most of all… smile and enjoy every minute of it. Even a bit of rain can’t stop you from marrying the man you love more than anything in the world.

Kirsten and Brian’s Wedding Suppliers