Sunday, September 11, 2011

Wedding at the sugar shack

Yesterday our friends Marie-Emmanuelle and Patrick got hitched at Sucrerie de la Montagne, 40 minutes down the road from us, just over the border in Quebec.

It was a lovely setting full of interesting buildings in a maple forest...


Here's the cabane à sucre, or sugar shack (where they boil down sap to make maple syrup)


The magasin général, or general store


Ye olde cauldron!



And the lovely couple.



in Québec, anyone can marry you, not just religious or other officials. There are just certain items that need to be covered in the ceremony, and accompanying paperwork. Marie-Emmanuelle and Patrick are friends with writer Lawrence Scanlan and his wife Ulrike, and asked them to perform the bilingual (French/English) ceremony. Marie-Emmanuelle is a francophone (although her English is perfect) and Patrick is an anglophone (his French is fluent.) Larry and Ulrike did a wonderful job at the outdoor ceremony. The weather was gorgeous.



Patrick and Marie-Emmanuelle reciting vows. Note that bearded dude in the background!



The newlyweds share a hug. We met Marie-Emmanuelle in 2007, when she was fostering our dogs Tristan and Sophie, who needed a new home after a tragedy in their family. Marie-Emmanuelle offered to help by taking in the dogs and finding them a home. A friend of mine in California (!) noticed an ad on a rescue site for the dogs, who were living in Quebec at the time. Gotta love the internet. Long story short, we adopted the dogs and gained a friend, too. Not long after that, the wonderful Patrick came on the scene. Between the two of them, they have four dogs: a Border collie, two Nova Scotia Duck-tolling retrievers, and a German Shepherd pup. Oh, and a human kid due in December! :) They are true dog lovers and their four-legged kids are wonderful animals, well-trained and affectionate.


The bride wore stylin' footwear! Usually I see Marie-Emmanuelle in jeans, running around with her dogs. She and Patrick are heavily involved in flyball.



The kids at the wedding enjoyed exploring the sucrerie grounds...



...as did I!





Gordon and Marie-Emmanuelle pose for the camera.



Then it was my turn.



These two make a great couple and I wish them many, many years of happiness together.




7 comments:

  1. What a sweet setting for a wedding. The happy couple are just two cute and how exciting to be welcoming a new baby into their family in December.

    Thank you for sharing your day with us.

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  2. I love the venue. Here's wishing the couple every happiness. Now that I look at the pics I am very glad that no alfalfa powder was used instead of confetti!

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  3. Just lovely! A sugar shack! How cool is that for a wedding venue. Love that old door : )

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  4. Wishing the couple long happy years together and all the best with their little one. It's a lovely setting at the sugar shack. Glad you adopted the dogs with the tragic life.

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  5. Anonymous8:21 am

    The Sugar Shack - A perfect setting for a perfect wedding! And what a handsome couple.

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  6. It was a lovely wedding with a cutie patootie bride and groom! :)

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  7. The wedding looks so cool! Congrats to the happy couple! they are adorable!

    You'll have to tell us the story about Sophie and Tristan's former owner sometime! Sounds tragic!~Lynn

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!