Happy endings do come true...

"honest to God!" (guess who said this!)

The 23rd of August we were fortunate enough to be invited to our dear friend's, Mark and Cyndy's wedding in Shoal Lake, Canada. Boy were we in for a treat! They had a garden wedding on Saturday afternoon. We arrived in Manitoba on Thursday evening. I was a little worried on Friday b/c it was not only raining, but a little chilly for this southern girl! It wouldn't have been a problem but we had packed for 90 F weather. Let me tell you-it was no where near 90 F! Thankfully by Saturday afternoon the weather had cleared and it was actually a little warm in the sun.

(Their Ukrainian wedding cake. Isn't it gorgeous?)

I always thought we did things differently down here. We're a lot more like our northern neighbors than I ever imagined! The groom and his groom's men arrived on quads with elk horns (I think it was elk???) tied on the front! This just fit those 3 guys! It was in direct contrast to Cyndy and their daughter Samantha gracefully gliding to the front in gorgeous white beaded gowns with their hair piled high around sparkling crowns. They always say opposites attract! LOL!

(Sweet Carla the matron on honor)

That evening there was a feast (and I mean FEAST!) for family and friends(over 400 people). Did I mention that Mark is Ukrainian? Those guys know how to cook! I haven't found any Ukrainian food that I don't like. It was an all you can eat Ukrainian buffet! I was in heaven. I ate till I thought I'd be sick. But it felt so good! LOL! After the speeches, toasts and dinner the dancing started. There were different Ukrainian dances that were so fun to watch. If I had any rhythm it would have probably been fun to participate too! We stayed until about 10:30 and were so exhausted we had to leave. The festivities went on all night. In fact at 11pm they had "lunch". More eating! This time it was trays of cold cuts and cheese. I hate we had to miss it, but we just couldn't hang out that late! Guess I'm getting old.

(Emma and Samantha) (Mary and Julie) (Cheryl and I) (Natasha, Emma and Mary) (Jenna and Grace)

That wasn't the end. The next day their was a big lunch for family and close friends. More Ukrainian food! YUM! Oh yea, Mark did take a pile of shrimp up and boil those to add to the meal. I ate a few just to be nice to my husband, but I was honestly more interested in the cabbage rolls!

(Mark cooking the shrimp.)
(The incredible chefs behind all the food I love so much-Shirley, Shirley, Phyllis and Anne. Mark's wants to leave me with them until I can learn to cook like they do. I'm afraid there aren't enough hours in the day! LOL)

You would think that would be the end of the celebrating and we'd leave the newlyweds alone for a few minutes. Not gonna happen. That evening we went to Mark and Cyndy's home, along with 2 other families and sat outside around the fire-roasting marshmallows, eating sandwiches and chips and just visiting. This was such fun-I could hang out there every night (that is if it wasn't such a long drive/flight from AL).

This was such a beautiful celebration for 2 beautiful people. Mark and his family have always gone out of their way to reach out to our family and show us a good time in Canada. I'm so glad he and Cyndy have been blessed with each other. I pray they have many years of happiness!