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Whirlwind Romance
Erin Landes and Robert McGregor, November 14, 2008, Calgary. By Sadiya Dendar
About the Couple
Bride: Erin Landes
Groom: Robert McGregor
How they met: “We met and were acquaintances in high school, but we didn’t start dating until running into each other years later.”
Fave date: “We are big music people and concert-goers, so flying to Vegas to see No Doubt in a small club was one of the best.”
What attracted her to him: “I fell for his shy, gentle nature right away, and I loved that he never tried to be anything but himself.”
What attracted him to her: “Her inner beauty and caring nature.”
Engagement story: “Robert and I had been a couple for more than five years before getting engaged. Although people asked us all the time when we were going to ‘tie the knot,’ we never felt the need to do it before the timing was right for us. Before the proposal, we started talking a lot about getting married later that year, so I knew it might be coming soon. Robert still wanted it to be a surprise and knew that any unusual outing would make me suspicious. So as we were on our way out to a family dinner, he said, ‘you look pretty, but there is something missing.’ When I looked up to see what the heck he was talking about, he was holding a little square box. He said a few sweet words, and it happened right there in our kitchen! I was definitely surprised! After that, we had the engagement we wanted—four months: short and sweet.”
Words they live by: “When it comes to a relationship, you have to respect the other person, and to recognize that their interests, desires and needs, although sometimes different, are never less important than your own.”
The Wedding Day:
Wedding date: November 14, 2008.
Guests: 150
Wedding theme: “Bare tree branches were used to sort of tie everything together. We used images of them on our invitations and reply cards, seating chart and place cards, cake and room decor, and even subtly in my bouquet and Rob’s boutonnière.”
Her best moment: “We wrote our own vows to each other, and hearing Robert’s for the first time is a moment I will never forget.”
His best moment: “My best man is not much of talker, and not someone who I thought would be thrilled about giving a speech at the wedding, but when he got up there, he hit that speech out of the park! He had the whole room engaged and delivered it with humour and, above all, sincerity.”
What they would have done differently: “Not much! I only wish I could have spoken to everyone a little bit more. It goes by so quickly!”
Advice to others: “Short engagements are fantastic! You don’t have time to second-guess your choices or drive yourself crazy changing your mind about things. First instincts are usually right.”
Wedding song: “We had two songs that were special to us on this day. Our wedding song, which we danced to, was 'Love Song' originally by The Cure, but we hit the dance floor to the 311 version. We decided it was our song during one of our first road trips together, so it seemed fitting to dance our first dance to it. The other song that was special was Simon & Garfunkel’s 'Bridge over Troubled Water.' This was the song that played as we came into the ceremony.”
Fave wedding gift: “No gift was as wonderful as our parents’ generosity. The saying goes, when you pay you have a say, but they wanted every decision to be our own, and only offered advice when asked. They gave us the freedom and ability to throw the party we wanted to have on our big day.”
Most unexpected moment: “During dinner, five girlfriends of Robert’s mother came over and serenaded us with a song!”
Fave wedding detail: “Robert and I both agree having our wedding ceremony set up so our guests sat in chairs circling us while we stood in the middle was pretty neat.”
What made her day: “Just how completely stress-free and seamless it was!”
What made his day: “That it went off without a hitch.”
Honeymoon: Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary and France.
The day in three words: Surrounded by love.
