Fenya & Bobby's Wedding - June 24, 2023

The most momentous June in living memory was capped off yesterday by a small but beautiful wedding ceremony uniting Fenya and Bobby.

Mr. & Mrs. Valencia!

They got engaged 27 days earlier after celebrating four years together this May, and with not just the blessing of Audrey and I, but our full-throated encouragement.

You see, Bobby has been accepted into the doctoral program of the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto starting this fall, so the two of them are moving to the Big Smoke this summer. Housing, especially for a couple starting out, is both sparse and expensive, and you can't apply for couples or family housing at U of T unless you are already married or living common-law.

Back in March, I started joking with Bobby about getting him a ladder for his birthday so the two of them could elope, but it turns out that particular cartoon trope has no relevance for the youth of today. So Audrey and I made it very clear that if they wanted to get married very quickly in order to get on the one year + waiting list for U of T housing, it was all right with us, even if they went down to City Hall or flew to Vegas and then told us after the fact.

Thankfully they decided against that and instead made plans for two weddings: a tiny, more casual one this year, with a minimal number of friends and family in attendance, followed by a larger one with a wedding party, reception and all the trimmings, presumably next year.

Rev. Mervin Gallant, our minister for seven years at St. Albert U.C., agreed to marry them at his new charge of Highlands United Church, so the immediate families and witnesses joined the happy couple there for a brief but incredibly meaningful ceremony yesterday afternoon.

Fenya wore an adorable romper complemented by a veil loaned by our dear neighborhood friend Sandy, whose 62nd anniversary was the same day as the wedding! She also made a wedding day bandana for Canéla from some century-old lace she had 'laying around.' 

The veil was a wonderful ‘something old,’ while the dress was ‘something new’. A bracelet from Audrey covered ‘something borrowed,’ while the 'something blue' was supplied by flax flowers in the bouquet Audrey harvested from her front garden that very morning, as well as a blue ribbon provided by Sandy.

I was also extremely flattered and touched that Bobby accepted my late father's wedding band as his own.

And how often do you get to take a selfie that contains every single wedding guest in attendance plus the newlyweds?

Following the ceremony, everyone (and three dogs) came back to our backyard, which spruced up pretty nicely thanks to Audrey and Glory's decorating skills, for food and libations.

Bobby's family is delightful, and talking to his parents Vix and Catherine was a real treat. Catherine also brought two huge trays of homemade spring rolls and pancit (a super-tasty Filipino noodle dish) to supplement the pizzas Bobby had ordered. 

The forecast had called for a possibility of thundershowers, but the skies remained clear and the afternoon pleasantly warm all day long and into the evening. We talked and lounged and ate and drank, had two kinds of cake (ube and ice cream!), and toasted the happy couple with glasses of prosecco.

The last guests said goodbye around 9 pm, and it took only a few minutes to get the tables stowed and the backyard reset to normal, and that was that - our firstborn was wed and our family had joined another in a day full of joy and smiles. 

Bonus smiles were had when Glory received news that she had passed the stats course for her spring semester. Her success was largely due to Bobby supplying endless hours of tutoring and coaching to her and her best friend Brooklyn over the past three weeks while essentially living at our house -what a champ.

 The night before, as the younger folks prepared to head out on the town in a limo Glory had arranged as a gift for her sister, my cousin Parker had called from Churchill to wish them well. Afterwards he'd asked me how I was doing with this big change. After all, he'd said, "you're giving away a daughter tomorrow."

"No," I said, "I am truly gaining a son."

UPDATE: Now with video!