RUSTIC ROMANCE IN MODERN TIMES Covid restrictions and a

RUSTIC ROMANCE IN MODERN TIMES In a world overcome with crisis, this down-home, western wedding is a prime example of how love conquers all.

Bronwyn & Bruce Hilton • May 22, 2020 • Photographer: Samantha Knoop Their Story: In 2020, it’s difficult Strathmore, Alberta), were determined not to mountains. Sadly, days of heavy rain and to have a wedding. With social distancing let that happen, however. arctic cold put an end to that idea. Luckily, requirements and the ban of mass gatherings With the wedding date set for May 22, 2020 Bruce had built an indoor riding arena on the in Canada, many couples have had their – which was also the anniversary of their first farm years earlier and it was the groom’s idea wedding dreams dashed for the year. date – the couple had originally planned to to move the wedding inside. Bronwyn Atkinson (originally from Cape have their wedding in one of the fields on “It worked perfectly with plenty of space!” Town, South Africa), and Bruce Hilton (of Bruce’s farm, as it has a beautiful view of the tells Bronwyn. “Our guests drove into the

arena and positioned themselves however they were comfortable. And, the horses could join us!”

Bronwyn is a small animal veterinarian and met Bruce during a hot summer, several years ago when his farm dog developed a problem. She chuckles about the fact that she and Bruce began with a story that isn’t for the faint of heart.

“Skip ahead if you have a weak stomach!” She laughs.

opposite page: The bride stands with her buckskin mare, “Missy.” top: Griffin, the dog that started the entire Hilton love story. middle: Bronwyn also wanted to include her other mare “Lena” in the wedding photos. bottom: Though the couple couldn’t have a typical wedding reception, they did have their favourite bubbly on hand for a sociallydistanced toast. right: Bruce and Bronwyn Hilton, May 22, 2020.

As luck would have it, Bruce’s Great Pyrenees dog, Griffin, had been cooling himself in a damp spot. His thick coat, combined with the heat of summer was the perfect recipe for him to end up with a big problem – maggots. As soon as Bruce noticed the infestation he loaded Griffin up into his horse trailer and took him to the vet. Bronwyn happened to be in the clinic and saw Griffin that day. The rest, is a beautiful love story. While it took Griffin a while to recover, both Bronwyn and Bruce are extremely grateful to the dog for their introduction.

“I’ve been told that only a farmer and a vet can find romance while digging through maggots,” says Bronwyn.

Ceremony & Reception Site: The couple’s drive-in ceremony was held in their indoor arena. They didn’t have a reception in order to minimize the risk to their families as much as possible.

Bronwyn and Bruce stuck to the limit at the time, for indoor guests of 15 people. Guests drove their cars into the indoor riding arena and socially distanced themselves from others during the ceremony. The couple decided not to serve any food.

“The hardest part was not being able to hug our family or take family pictures but we were grateful to be together,” Bronwyn explains.

“While Bruce and I were able to share our first dance right after the ceremony, we chose not to open the ‘dance floor’ to others. Having a wedding during a global pandemic was a different experience but we decided to be flexible, made it work and had the most amazing day.”

Dress: As bridal stores weren’t open due to the pandemic when Bronwyn was dress shopping, only second-hand dresses were left as an option. This provided its own

challenges as the bride says she is hard to fit. Additionally, there was also the fact that all of the dresses she looked at in secondhand stores had been worn and required dry cleaning – which was not possible with dry cleaning services also closed.

“With a stroke of luck, I ended up finding my dream wedding dress on Kijiji three weeks before the wedding. It fit perfectly and had never been worn!”

Bronwyn was also fortunate enough to have her mother with her when she first tried the dress on – an experience the bride had been looking forward to but didn’t think would happen, considering the circumstances.

“Truthfully, my only criteria for a dress was that it fit, as I knew it would be nearly impossible to find one. The dress that I found happened to be my dream dress. I loved its elegant white satin, jewelled detail and princess feel,” she says.

Bronwyn wore cowboy boots to compliment her dress on the special day.

Groom’s Attire: Bruce’s entire attire was borrowed as no stores were open to buy a suit.

“I would say he did pretty well,” the bride says.

Cake: The couple choose a pink cake with wedding toppers that featured masks. “My creative and talented mom made both the wedding cake and cake toppers! She sure has a sense of humour.”

Decorations: The couple hired the lighted birch trees off Kijiji as well and loved the ambience they provided in the arena. The groom made the wedding arch out of rustic wood from one of the old pasture fences and it featured a milk can as decoration. The milk can had sentimental value as it was owned and used by Bruce’s parents many decades ago to milk cows on the farm.

The table used to hold the cake has been owned by Bronwyn’s stepfather for a long time and has a tradition of being used in many different family weddings

The Horses: The buckskin is Bronwyn’s lovely mare, “Missy.”

“Friend Clay Webster was kind enough to take her directly to Moore Equine after our wedding ceremony to be bred as that’s how the timing worked out and now she’s in foal to a gorgeous buckskin stud!” She laughs. The palomino is the bride’s filly “Lena,” and the black Miniature Horse is “Lacey” (who also happened to be the couple’s ring bearer). Honeymoon: “We couldn’t go away anywhere during the pandemic so decided to go for a cruise on the SS Covid on the lake in the back pasture. It was perfect.”