COLWOOD, B.C. — A relatively long time ago, in a cinema far from “far, far away,” Liam Hudson first fell in love with Star Wars. “I was nine years old in the front row of the theatre,” Liam says. “I’ve been enamoured ever since.” But it wasn’t so simple when he first met a friend of a friend named Alex. “Back then I knew him only as the Star Wars nerd,” Alex smiles before recalling an interaction with Liam at a Halloween party where he was dressed as Kylo Ren. “I grabbed the lightsaber from him and he wasn’t happy,” Alex says. “I was stressed,” Liam laughs. It was a crucial component of the costume that he’d spend countless hours crafting to ensure it was accurate to how it looked in the movies. “I 100 per cent thought she was going to break it,” Liam smiles. But Alex didn’t. And when she eventually agreed to go on a date with him, Liam didn’t really talk about Star Wars. “He’s always been kind and a lot of fun,” Alex says. “He really showed an interest in what I liked.” So, despite having zero interest in Star Wars, Alex did the same—and agreed to attend a comic convention wearing a costume he custom made for her. “It was amazing. It was perfect,” Liam smiles before showing a picture of him as Kilo Ren posing with Alex looking like Rey. “We looked like a million bucks.” After moving in together, Alex and Liam topped their Star Wars decorated Christmas tree with a soundtrack-playing Death Star; named their cats after characters like Chewbacca, Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi; displayed life-size animatronic statues of Darth Vader, a Stormtrooper, R2-D2, and Yoda in their front yard; and visited the Star Wars area at Disneyland for his 30th birthday. But when it came to wedding planning…. “The wedding was pretty normal,” Alex laughs. “I wanted it to be normal.” Liam knew the top of the wedding cake would include a couple Star Wars characters, but he never expected to watch his bride walk down the aisle accompanied to a Star Wars love theme. Alex had surprised him. “It was the song from (the prequels) where Anakin and Padme are falling in love on Naboo,” Alex recalls, fighting back tears. “And I’m standing there looking at Alex come down the aisle, and she looks amazing and my favourite song is playing.” And although Star Wars was his first love, Liam had no doubt why Alex is his forever love. “Oh yes!” Liam answers when asked whether the iconic “Force” is strong with Alex. “It’s very strong!” While Alex and Liam have opposing opinions on Star Wars, the real-life “Force” of love that connects them has grown to include two boys—who may remember the names of more Star Wars characters than farm animals, but will never forget to also wield their force for creativity and caring.
