'A memory we will never forget': Winnipeg couple gets married in a record-breaking heat wave

The heat didn't stop Marco and Brigette Fiore from celebrating their big day on June 19, 2022 (Submitted: Brigette Fiore)

It was a wedding day one Winnipeg couple will never forget – a beautiful outdoor venue surrounded by family and friends… on a day so hot it shattered a 134-year-old heat record.

As the big day inched closer and closer, Brigette and Marco Fiore say they were watching as heat advisories and warnings began popping up across southern Manitoba.

"We just wanted to make sure that no one would have heatstroke or anything like that," Brigette told CTV News. "I was already nervous as is just to get married. But I mean I feel like I was worrying about everyone else with the temperature."

The couple discussed postponing the wedding, but had already waited three years to get married due to the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to brave the heat.

"We were getting worried, and we almost didn't want to believe it," Marco said. "We just thought ‘there's no way it's going to be that hot.’"

But it was.

Temperatures in Winnipeg soared to 37 C, the highest temperature on record for June 19th since 1888, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Heat warnings in place throughout the weekend warned humidex values would reach into the low 40s Sunday afternoon.

"It was really sweaty and hot, but everybody had a blast," Marco said, adding he and his wedding party were decked out in three-piece suits. "We did rent some more fans and a portable AC unit, but they honestly didn't make a dent. It was still hot."

However, that heat didn't stop Marco and Brigette from celebrating their big day on June 19 – an outdoor wedding ceremony and reception at Pine Ridge Hollow with 120 guests who they say showed up and stuck it out right to the end of the night with no issues.

"I think the only thing that went wrong was my hair went flat at the end of it, but I mean it was quite humid and hot," Brigette said with a laugh.

The couple says even with the record-breaking heat, they couldn't ask for anything else.

"We got married and everybody got home safe – those are the top two things," Marco said. "And it is a memory we will never forget."