An Alberta bride, who had to leave her wedding dress behind when she fled the Fort McMurray wildfire , married this weekend in a gown that was kindly offered to her at the last minute by a Toronto bridal store.
Élise Boissonneault and her partner, Brandon Phillippo, wed on Saturday at The Rectory Café on Ward's Island.
The bride wore two dresses from Lea-Ann Belter, a local bridal shop in Toronto's Danforth area, a delicate lace gown during the ceremony, and a simple backless white gown for the reception.
(Photo from Alex Neary/ Wildeyed Photography)
(Photo from Alex Neary/ Wildeyed Photography)
Boissonneault was forced to leave her original wedding dress behind in Fort McMurray when she fled the city due to the wildfire. Her dress was at the seamstress' shop, which was part of a mandatory evacuation zone.
Upon arriving in Toronto, the bride's wedding photographer turned to social media for help. Within hours, hundreds of offers came pouring in from across the country, from former brides and bridal shops.
"At the end of it, there were two dresses that I loved," Boissonneault told CTVNews.ca, noting that the store told her she could have both.
The 29-year-old massage therapist said she's still feeling overwhelmed by how quickly everything came together.
"I'm happy to be married; my husband has been so amazing, so supportive. He thinks it's awesome that so many people reached out."
The two are taking in the sights of the city before returning to Alberta, enjoying a Blue Jays game on Monday (with the clubhouse donating two home-plate tickets for the pair) and a Pearl Jam concert on Tuesday.
The couple's photographer, Alex Neary told CTVNews.ca that the small, intimate wedding went off without a hitch.
"It was perfect," she said. "It was a little chilly, but other than that it was amazing. Everything went according to plan, they were just so happy."
Neary said that many passersby on the island recognized Boissonneault, and stopped to offer their best wishes.
"It was pretty cool, people were riding their bikes when we were taking photos and they stopped and offered their congratulations."
(Photo from Alex Neary/ Wildeyed Photography)
Boissonneault said she can't express enough gratitude for all the generosity that's been shown to her and her husband over the past week.
"There are no words to describe what I want to say," she said. "All I can say, really, is thank you so much from the bottom of my heart."
She plans to pay it forward when she's allowed to return to Fort McMurry, by offering free massages to all of the firefighters.
