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Centre Stage
Greta Hodgkinson and Etienne Lavigne, July 4, 2008, Toronto. By Roseanne Dela Rosa
About the Couple:
Bride: Greta Hodgkinson
Groom: Etienne Lavigne
Occupations: They are both dancers for the National Ballet of Canada.
How they met: At The National Ballet of Canada.
Fave date: The night Etienne proposed.
What attracted her to him: His sense of humour and sharp wit.
What attracted him to her: Well you know, like every other guy, the first thing I saw was her eyes and her smile.
Engagement story: “He took me to The Fifth, one of my favourite restaurants, for dinner. Then he told me he had to go back to the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts to pick up his laptop, which he said he had left there by accident. We entered the stage door and he told me to follow him backstage. I had no idea what was happening as the show had been finished for a few hours by now and the stage was completely dark. We walked backstage, and I peeked onto the stage and there was a pool of light in the middle of it. He led me into the spotlight and at that moment, music started playing throughout the theatre (a song that I love, ‘I’ll Be’ by Edwin McCain) and the curtain rose. The house was sparkling, just barely lit, and there on the floor in front of the curtain was a small black box. He took the box, knelt on one knee and asked me to marry him. Then we danced together alone in the spotlight.”
The Wedding Day:
Wedding date: July 4, 2008
Guests: 96
Wedding theme: “A bilingual wedding, everything from the ceremony to the programs, menus and music. We wanted the day to be very romantic but also reflect both of our cultures and backgrounds. We had beautiful orchids, peonies, hydrangeas and roses as part of our lush backdrop. There was lots of candlelight, and we ate amazing food. We also had my Armenian and his Quebecois side represented in the food and favours.”
Her best moment: “Walking down the aisle, seeing Etienne, and saying my vows in front of all my family and friends.”
His best moment: “There are quite a lot of them actually, but it was probably seeing Greta dancing by herself at the end of the evening when everybody was wiped. I don’t think I have ever seen her that happy.”
Advice to others: “Plan as much as you can well in advance because the last two weeks are incredibly hectic with last-minute details. Also, really enjoy the day, and take in each moment. Forget about everything else!”
Wedding song: “‘Quand on a que l’amour’ by Jacques Brel. It is a beautiful French song that we both love, and although I didn’t know it at the time, Etienne had planned to sing ‘our’ song at the wedding, so he convinced me not to pick it for our first dance.”
The day in three words: Romantic, emotional and happy.
Fave wedding gift: “I got a stunning Cartier watch from Greta.”
Most unexpected moment: “When Etienne surprised me by playing and singing, along with our good friend Kirk Hanson, ‘our’ song, ‘I’ll Be’ by Edwin McCain. It’s the same song he proposed to me with on the Opera House stage. He learned it on guitar and also took some singing lessons in order to serenade me at the reception. It was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me (and that’s counting the proposal)!”
What made her day: “The fact that everything fell into place so perfectly, the weather was ideal and things went off without a hitch. It was exactly how I imagined it to be.”
What made his day: “Seeing Greta walk down the aisle, which started very far from where I was so I had quite a long time to take it all in. Oh, and the fact that I didn’t bomb singing my song!”
