Mary-Angela & Justin:
A Day Filled With Fun & Romance
May 9 2009 :: Sacred Heart Church, Parkhill
Sandhills Golf Course, Port Franks & North Middlesex Community Centre, Parkhill
Photography by Photography by Jennifer Partington
Story by TheWeddingRing.ca
Mary-Angela Minten met Justin Hartwick at their church’s youth group. They started hanging out regularly in the summer of 2006. Justin came from a small family of one sister, whereas Mary-Angela came from a large family of four sisters and eight brothers. “We grew up in very different places... but both just as wonderful,” adds Mary-Angela. In October, their friendship turned into something more and they began dating.
Though they may have grown up in different places, they say that God brought them together. It was around the one year mark in their relationship that they realized they wanted to be together forever. “We became such good friends and were so comfortable being around each other,” says Justin.
Justin says the way Mary-Angela smiles with her eyes is what he loves most about her, while Mary-Angela loves Justin’s respect for her most.
On May 3, 2008, Mary-Angela and Justin went out for dinner in Port Franks, followed by a drive to the beach. “We started walking towards the beach and I saw a fire just on the other side of the sand dune,” says Mary-Angela. “As we came around the dune, lit up in flames was drift wood saying ‘M-A MERRY ME’.” (Apparently Justin’s friends thought it would be funny to misspell ‘marry’!). Mary-Angela said “Yes!” before Justin could even get down on one knee.
Mary-Angela and Justin made their invitations themselves. By taking the time to do so, they hoped guests would know how important it was to the bride and groom that they come help them celebrate their special day.
Mary-Angela and Justin set the date for May 9, 2009, planning at two o’clock ceremony at the Sacred Heart Church in Parkhill, Ontario – the church they had both been attending together.
“Our theme was fun, simple and practical,” explained Mary-Angela. “Right from the engagement night, the deciding factor was ‘if it was fun, it won!’”
Since Mary-Angela and Justin knew they’d only be getting married once, they wanted to make sure that everyone had a good time, including themselves.
The wedding colours were mainly turquoise-blue, green and pink; but Mary-Angela tried to incorporate as many colours as they could because they wanted the wedding to be very bright and spring-like.
Mary-Angela’s cousin Nick (who also happens to be Justin’s best friend) was the best man. He dressed in blue. Justin’s other friend, Matt, was another groomsman in a green dress shirt and John-Paul, in pink, was the third groomsman and Mary-Angela’s brother. The boys bought their suits and comfy skater shoes, both of which they can wear again.
ing shorts and shirts for Mary-Angela’s three nephews.
The Matron of Honour, Krista (and the bride’s sister), wore a blue dress, while Justin’s sister, Stephanie, wore green and Mary-Angela’s other sister, Janessa, wore pink. The bride’s dress was cut above the knees and all four ladies (wanting to be comfortable) wore white ballerina slippers.
Because sun is never a guarantee, especially in May, the wedding party was ready for anything, armed with cute, colourful rain boots and white umbrellas, which they took for their outdoor photos – and, which ended up coming in handy! Jennifer Partington was the photographer for the day’s events, which included a trip to Tim Hortons for hot chocolate for the newlyweds and their entourage. Mary-Angela and Justin say Jennifer was as fun as they photo shoots themselves. “Jennifer has a great personality and was so easy to talk to… She wanted to tell our wedding story through her pictures, and not just have an album full of posed shots,” which Mary-Angela says is exactly what they wanted – to be themselves and have fun.
The reception consisted of two separate locations, one for dinner and one for the dance. The dinner of eighty guests was held at Sandhills Golf Course in Port Franks. They chose it because it was small and intimate, perfect for their wedding, and was also close to the beach where they wanted photos taken. Instead of a wedding cake, a friend of the couple’s baked a sugar cookie for each dinner guest with their name on it in icing, which doubled as a place setting.
The reception dance was held at the North Middlesex Community Centre in Parkhill and there were about 350 people in attendance. Centrepieces were made up of various colours of tulips that the couple planted the fall before. “We then picked them the week before the wedding and put them in the fridge… that way they wouldn’t bloom too early.” An Ailsa Craig caterer provided an Oriental-style buffet and two fondue fountains – white and brown chocolate.
Since the bride and groom both have a fascination for pirates, guest favours were made up of treasure chests filled with chocolate money, ring pops and candy necklaces - a fun way to show their personality and put a smile on their guests’ faces.
At the end of the day, Mary-Angela and Justin were able to say they enjoyed the entire wedding day, which is thanks in part to their family and friends. “God willing, we will be able to have a family of our own some day and give them the same love and support our families have given us.” ■
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