Westbrook, Saskatchewan

Barbara and Peter Hutzul are members of the Westbrook, SK Holy Ascension Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This was not their first church. When they were courting and when they married, they went to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Theodore. The couple started courting in October and Peter, convinced that he had found the right girl, proposed to her in December. Barbara, however, was afraid that her mother would disapprove and said that they should wait until she graduated in May to announce the engagement. She said the she would not start wearing her engagement ring until then. The couple wanted to get married in October, but Barbara’s mother affected their plans again. She was a nurse’s aide and had vacation time in August only. As a result, couple married in August. Barbara’s mother made Barbara’s wedding gown for her. It has long sleeves, a high collar, and three layers of tulle. Not everything went smoothly during the nuptials. On the night before the wedding, the couple realized that they had forgotten to book the church. They did get to have their church service, but right before the reception following the wedding, the oven at the rink in Foam Lake where they were to have their reception caught on fire. The couple’s wedding was far more eventful than anything they could have imagined. Still, everything turned out just fine and 500 people attended the event. On the day after the wedding, during the gift opening ceremony, the couple’s friends had a funny mock wedding for them. During the mock wedding, Barbara’s aunt and a friend of her mother’s dressed up as the bride and groom and performed a silly play.

Holy Ascension Ukrainian Orthodox Church; Peter and Barbara Hutzul