The celebration has never stopped for Jennifer Hallett and Tyler Dankowich of Blackfalds, who were married this summer in a Martha Stewart-style “pop-up” wedding chapel in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Nearly two months after their June 27 nuptials — the result of Hallett entering a Martha Stewart website contest — the Central Alberta couple learned that they will be featured in an upcoming edition of The Wedding Ring magazine.
“It was a memorable wedding and it hasn’t really ended,” said Hallett, who was surprised that the Toronto-based publication liked her bridal pictures enough to use them in a new issue.
“It feels kind of neat. It was such a simple wedding, but I guess it was also kind of glamorous,” the 27-year-old human resources worker added.
Stewart featured do-it-yourself weddings on the fly, with homemade decorations and other simple charms on her website.
A storefront in Brooklyn was turned into a makeshift “pop-up chapel” and festooned with paper streamers. A contest was held to give engaged couples the chance to win a wedding package.
Hallett created a cartoon about how she and Dankowich, 31, met online — and it caught the eye of contest judges. “I was told it stood out,” said Hallett, who got engaged in 2008.
Hallett and Dankowich, who works for Dow Chemical, won a free wedding in the makeshift chapel, along with cake and champagne. Unlike the grand-prize winners (a couple from Victoria), the Central Albertans had to pay their own way to New York and cover their own accommodations and photography costs — but it was worth it, said Hallett, who entered the contest in May.
“What appealed to us was that it was basically one month of lead time.” There was no time for fussy plans — which suited the couple, who had a hard time picking a venue for their nuptials. (Dankowich is from Edmonton, while Hallett’s relatives are in Vancouver.)
In the end, 21 of the couple’s closest friends and relatives flew to the trendy Brooklyn location — including Hallett’s best friend from England, who was maid of honour.
The bride and groom exchanged personally written vows in what Hallett described as a “funky and fresh” setting, decorated in white and beige.
Unlike weddings with unruly guest lists, the focus was on the marriage itself and not an “over-the-top” celebration, added Hallett, who later honeymooned with her new husband in New York City.
“The guests loved it. Our wedding was very simple, clean and intimate. It was just what we were looking for.”
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com