We’ve been keeping this to ourselves for a while now but I think it’s time everyone knew….

We are Married!

This summer, on July 13th, we had a small ceremony in the hospital sanctuary with some of our local friends and tied the knot.

Here is the long story about how we decided to get married:

I went to meet with my immigration lawyer to discuss how I could go about being able to live and work in Canada. I explained the situation about how Luke and I were engaged and getting married next year, that he had leukemia and was in the hospital, and that I needed to start working as I just graduated pharmacy school. His suggestion was to get married and have Luke sponsor me for permanent residency and apply for a work permit. He told us we needed to do it ASAP and that it needed to be as real as possible (share it publicly, have witnesses, etc). So that day we had a marriage commissioner come to the hospital so we could sign the marriage license.

Fast forward to that night when talking to my parents and explaining that we were going to get married. My dad says he was looking into it and he figured out that my mom was still a Canadian citizen. I hadn’t even thought to mention to the lawyer that my mom was born in Canada (sometimes I can be so forgetful).

The next day I go back to the lawyer with my documents and I mention it thinking it wouldn’t change much and he says to me, that changes everything! It turns out that her being a Canadian citizen made me a citizen too. All I had to do was apply for my proof of citizenship (simple to do but such a long waiting process)

Well Luke and I had already bought the marriage license so we discussed it and even though we didn’t need to get married right away, both of us figured, why not? We love each other, we already have our date set for next year, I would have married him two years ago if I could have, and it would make the legal aspect of getting married in Maine and finding an officiant that much simpler. We decided to go for it!

I went and got a little dress, we reserved the sanctuary, invited our local friends, and a wonderful woman who works in Cancer Care offered to officiate for us. We were sad that we wouldn’t have any family there but really excited to finally be able to call each other husband and wife.

On July 13th, 2018 I got my hair done, did my make-up, brought my dress and shoes and clothes for Luke to the hospital, and spent the afternoon hanging out with Luke. Shortly before five I Luke got dressed and the nurses let him disconnect from his IV pole for the ceremony. When we got to the sanctuary our friends from Luke’s lab were there and Judi, our officiant, helped me set up my parents on facetime and I went to get dressed!

The ceremony was short and sweet and filled with happy tears. I still can’t believe that Luke chose me to be his wife and I am thankful every day that we found each other five years ago.

Even though we are already married, we can’t wait to renew our vows on our anniversary next summer with our families there to support us and truly send us on our journey as husband and wife.

July 13th, 2019 can’t come soon enough!

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I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who helped us make this possible.

• To our immediate families who supported us from afar even though they couldn’t be there
• Judi Barnes who graciously married us and helped us craft our own unique ceremony
• The nurses on D6 at the Health Sciences Center in Winnipeg for not only taking care of Luke but also helping us throw a little reception with our friends, secretly getting me my flowers, and getting us a cake and sparkling apple juice! You went above and beyond
• Our local friends who showed up to witness our marriage and have been helping us out all year long in so many ways