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All Saints is encouraging people to contribute memorabilia from weddings held at the church, such as this 1940s cake topper. (Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The gathering will include organ music, singing by the choir, and a moment when spouses turn to one another, join hands and recite vows co-led by Rev. Rob Schoeck and his wife, Rev. Lauren Schoeck, who is also an Anglican priest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t verbalize enough what marriage means to us,\u201d says Arlene Merrick, a member of the church committee that\u2019s planning the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an occasion to tell your partner in a very public way: \u2018I would marry you again.\u2019 We\u2019re encouraging people to get dressed up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an occasion to tell your partner in a very public way: \u2018I would marry you again.\u2019 We\u2019re encouraging people to get dressed up.\u201d <\/p>\n
The free Centennial Celebration of Weddings event runs from 1 to 4 p.m. on June 20. The service will start at 2 p.m. and last about 30 minutes. There\u2019s no need to pre-register. Donations will be accepted.<\/p>\n
There will be a display of photos, memorabilia and clothing from All Saints weddings of decades past (contact the church if you\u2019ve got items to contribute).<\/p>\n
A photographer will be on hand to take portraits at a reasonable cost.<\/p>\n
Schoeck, who leads the congregation, says the vow renewal offers an opportunity for spouses to \u201cremind themselves of the moment of their marriage\u201d and be thankful for the love that has blossomed and borne fruit in their lives.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Mark McLellan and Arlene Merrick on their wedding day, July 8, 2006; Merrick is on the planning committee for the church\u2019s vow renewal event. (Supplied)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n When Merrick, 73, wore a champagne-coloured dress to exchange vows with husband Mark McLellan, 65, at All Saints 20 years ago, it was the second marriage for both.<\/p>\n After meeting as singers in the church choir, they were grateful that Anglican doctrine had loosened back in the 1960s, allowing divorced persons to remarry.<\/p>\n McLellan has attended All Saints since birth and is immensely proud that four generations of his family have held nuptials there.<\/p>\n His maternal grandparents, Kay and Wilfrid Holbrow, wed there in 1936.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Michelle and Dylan Tweed on Oct. 14, 2017 (Supplied)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n His parents, Elaine and Rick McLellan, did the same in 1959.<\/p>\n After he and Merrick followed in their footsteps in 2006, McLellan was thrilled to escort his daughter Michelle to the altar to marry Dylan Tweed in 2017.<\/p>\n \u201cEver since Michelle was born, Mark dreamt of walking her up that aisle,\u201d Merrick says.<\/p>\n Michelle\u2019s off-white gown was strapless \u2014 a look that would have been unthinkable as recently as the 1970s, Merrick says, because Anglican brides were expected to keep their shoulders covered.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Mark McLellan\u2019s grandparents, Kay The family has treasured photos of three of the four couples signing the register at the exact same wooden table \u2014 an antique that dates back to the church\u2019s original building.<\/p>\n Joy Peters, the church\u2019s administrator, says 100 years ago \u2014 and for decades after that \u2014 the \u201crite of holy matrimony\u201d was a formal worship service that included hymns, prayers, scripture readings, sometimes a sermon, and the priest giving the sacrament of communion to the kneeling bride and groom.<\/p>\n Many of Winnipeg\u2019s movers and shakers belonged to All Saints and entered holy wedlock there.<\/p>\n Premier Duff Roblin married Mary MacKay there in 1958, the same year he was elected to lead the province.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Rick and Elaine McLellan, wed on May 23, 1959 (Supplied)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Nowadays, it\u2019s rare for any couple to have a fully traditional Anglican wedding. Schoeck does conduct some contemporary wedding services.<\/p>\n But All Saints \u2014 like many churches \u2014 is dealing with a small, aging congregation, a dwindling donor base and a grand building that needs constant maintenance.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why, around the turn of the 21st century, a decision was made to generate revenue by offering the building as a rental venue for virtually any kind of wedding, with any qualified officiant, religious or not.<\/p>\n The result has been a diverse, multicultural parade of brides and grooms who want a \u201cchurch look\u201d and bring their own vision to the charmingly old-fashioned space.<\/p>\n The church stipulates that ceremonies be \u201creasonably Christian,\u201d but in practice, pretty much anything goes.<\/p>\n Merrick tells of a Star Wars-themed wedding that featured raised lightsabres. Peters recalls a bride who wore a black, sparkly ballgown.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a wedding last year where the bride was from Mexico, and she surprised her husband with a mariachi band for the recessional,\u201d Peters says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was so much fun. We had to sneak the band in.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Manitoba premier and senator Duff Roblin and his wife, Mary Roblin, on their wedding day outside All Saints church, August 30, 1958. (University of Manitoba Archives \/ Winnipeg Tribune files)<\/p>\n The church charges a base price of $800 for a wedding. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a helpful source of revenue,\u201d Peters says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt also gets a lot of people across the threshold. We want the building to be used.\u201d<\/p>\n All Saints is well-served by its location, kitty-corner to the Legislative Building (a picturesque setting for photos) and a few blocks from the Fort Garry Hotel, a popular reception venue.<\/p>\n But the biggest attraction for renters, Peters says, is the awe-inspiring traditional beauty of the nave, with its soaring ceiling, striking stained-glass windows and dark-toned pews that seat at least 300 guests.<\/p>\n Some Christians get married at All Saints \u2014 bringing their pastor along to officiate \u2014 because they find their home church too plain, modern or auditorium-like, the committee members say.<\/p>\n An arched gothic doorway at the western end of the church has allowed many a bride over the past 100 years to make a \u201chigh-drama entrance\u201d directly onto the long, red-carpeted centre aisle leading to the altar.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u2018Kneeling cushions\u2019 made of cream-coloured silk, on which the bride and groom kneel side-by-side, are now rarely used for wedding services at All Saints Anglican Church. (Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Peters, 42, didn\u2019t get married at All Saints, but looks forward to renewing her vows there on June 20 with Ryan, her husband of 11 years.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of talk about how many marriages end in divorce, and \u2018ball and chain\u2019 jokes,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I would marry my husband so much more now than when I first married him. I\u2019m really grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n Matrimonial matriarch<\/p>\n Margaret Van Benthem still remembers the excitement that bubbled through her when, 55 years ago, the priest at All Saints Anglican Church formally announced \u2014 for three Sundays in a row \u2014 her upcoming marriage.<\/p>\n In the ancient ritual called \u201cpublishing the banns,\u201d the priest would, at three consecutive services, announce a couple\u2019s intention to marry and ask if anyone knew of any impediment to the union.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Volunteer wedding co-ordinator Margaret Van Benthem, 80, helps couples tie the knot. (Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d be sitting in church, and you couldn\u2019t wait,\u201d recalls the youthful 80-year-old. \u201cEverybody was so excited for you. It was building up to the big event \u2014 not in a showy way, but in a very respectful way. This was a serious thing.\u201d<\/p>\n If the banns of marriage are little-known today, it\u2019s part of an evolution toward more secularized, personal-statement weddings that Van Benthem reluctantly accepts.<\/p>\n The upcoming Centennial Celebration of Weddings event at All Saints is giving her a chance to share memories of a different time.<\/p>\n \u201cA wedding was such a religious experience,\u201d she says. \u201cEverybody followed the book.\u201d<\/p>\n The indomitable Van Benthem is the oldest active member of the All Saints congregation who\u2019s been attending since she was in the womb.<\/p>\n An ultra-dedicated volunteer at both weddings and funerals, she even manually tolls the church\u2019s lone bell if there\u2019s no one else to pull the rope.<\/p>\n Her parents, Alf and Betty Holbrow, walked down that special aisle in 1942. She followed in 1971. Her daughter Lisa and son John carried on the tradition in 2001 and 2014, respectively.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Alf and Betty Holbrow in 1942. (Supplied) <\/p>\n<\/p>\n The centennial display of memorabilia will include the exquisite 1940s cake-topper from Alf and Betty\u2019s wedding cake, on which the miniature bride\u2019s dress is made of real lace.<\/p>\n \u201cThat wasn\u2019t bought at Dollarama,\u201d Van Benthem observes.<\/p>\n Her own tiered cake in 1971 was baked by her mother, then taken to Eaton\u2019s to be elaborately iced. \u201cWeddings weren\u2019t the business they are now,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Most elements of weddings were modest by today\u2019s standards, she says, and people didn\u2019t expect monetary gifts to cover the cost of the reception.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t get her started on the questionable etiquette of current trends like \u201cYou\u2019re invited to the after-party, but not the dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n In the quarter-century since All Saints started allowing weddings with no religious affiliation to be held on a \u201crental of space\u201d basis, Van Benthem has volunteered her time as the host \u2014 a.k.a. matrimonial expert and problem-solver \u2014 at hundreds of eclectic ceremonies.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery wedding now is unique. Some are very relaxed,\u201d she says, recalling one in which a small child was pulled down the aisle in a wagon.<\/p>\n From taping Xs on the carpet so the attendants stand in a perfectly angled line \u2014 with every groomsman\u2019s hands uniformly clasped \u2014 to briefing the bridesmaids on maintaining their spacing, Van Benthem fusses over every detail.<\/p>\n \u201cI know every inch of what works. It should look like everything is seamless.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\nand Wilfrid Holbrow, wed at All Saints on Nov. 6, 1936. (Supplied)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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