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A Vintage Church
St. Michaels Anglican Church
Since Ger and I weren’t going to be able to get married in the church that we normally attend in Edmonton, it was important that we find a church and a pastor in Canmore in which, and with whom, we both felt comfortable.
One of the wedding planners gave us a list of about 10 churches in the small town of Canmore, and we drove by or went into almost of all of them. None of them had just what we were looking for…which, I suppose was no more than that special feeling of “Yes, this is where I want to get married.”
I was just saying to Ger that maybe we should just have an outdoors ceremony, when we rounded a corner in one of the small streets of Canmore, and there stood this beautiful old, red church, complete with a church bell!
Luckily, the doors were open, and we were able to walk into the sanctuary. It was breathtaking! It had a beautiful vaulted wooden ceiling, wooden beams, wooden walls, wooden pews and a magnificent wooden alter. The walls were lined with pane after pane of stained glass and everything about it whispered (since a church can’t scream) cozy, welcoming, and safe.
This was St. Michaels Anglican Church—built in 1893, a little church that has been a small haven of peace and comfort during many hard years, including the Great Depression and two World Wars. This was a magnificent structure of God that had truly stood strong “in good times and bad, in sickness and in health.”
The cherry, on the already most delicious cake, was pastor Betty. She made us feel comfortable right away and also reassured us that we would be able to personalize the ceremony to suit us, while keeping the tradition that this church warrants.
Now, the challenge is to find the right verses and songs to include in the ceremony…any ideas?
Tags: blogger search, church, eco-friendly, edmonton
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Oh, what a sweet church! I’m glad you guys found something perfect :) What are the ‘rules’ for readings and music? I would’ve liked to have some ’secular’ music played at ours, but one of the regulations is that all readings and songs have to be religious. Which is fine, we’ll probably just have the songs we liked played during dinner or something, and maybe have excerpts from more literary verses printed on the table cards maybe. If your church allows anything though, let me know, and I’ll send you some ideas of what we would’ve used!
The church looks so picturesque and perfectly in line with your wedding theme! Are you looking for more traditional songs or would christian rock or pop songs be ok as well?
That’s a good idea. I will ask around and see if we can borrow some verses/songs.
Heather…we have one song in mind for the ceremony: “As the deer pants for water”…I think that’s the title anyway. Its a christian song, so if you’re interested, you can google it. Has really beautiful lyrics.
What a great vintage church! Isn’t it romantic that the church that you will be getting married in has withstood the tests of time, symbolic perhaps of your soon-to-be marriage? Cheesy I know but what a great sentiment :).
Here’s an idea about songs and verses: why not ask your parents or other close married couples and re-use their verses in your ceremony? Kind of like ’something borrowed’.
The church is so cute! I’m still looking for the right music for our ceremony too. I hope someone has some good ideas about where to find wedding music.