ANTIQUE-LADEN, DIY WEDDING GETS STAR WARS TWIST
Marisa McKinney and Tim McKinney met while she was a music promoter for Raised Fist Productions and he was in an electronic punk band called Luna, meet Terra.
Neither her company nor his band lasted, but their relationship did. It started at a work event when she bet him he wouldn’t eat a bowl of jalapenos cast off from a plate of nachos at the Druid. He did, and she lost $5.
Only a month after they started dating, they moved in together. And, four years later, with the Andronyk Jewelry (andronyk. com) ring she’d pointed out to him at the Royal Bison art and design festival two years prior, he proposed on Canada Day atop Gallagher Hill, overlooking the Muttart Conservatory, downtown and the river valley.
“It’s one of her favourite spots in the city,” said Tim McKinney, who’s originally from Leduc.
“I was going to wait until sunset, but that didn’t happen because I’m impatient and I can’t keep my cool.”
After that, he left most of the planning to his bride-to-be.
Marisa McKinney’s hometown is Bon Accord and her parents’ acreage would provide the intimate vibe she was going for.
“I asked my parents if I could have it at their acreage and they kinda did a, ‘Uhh, yeah?’ and then I said, ‘OK! That’s a yes!’”
She started planning right away, but was somewhat stalled in October of 2016, when she underwent surgery.
“That had me out of wedding planning for six months,” she said. “What I wanted was a DIY wedding, and I couldn’t do it at all myself after that point.
Luckily, she had a strong, vintage vision for her day and trustworthy friends and family members to help her carry it out.
“I wanted to have tons and tons of antiques because my entire house is made up of antiques,” said the bride. “I love to find old things.”
Her dad made four 10-foot barn tables from scratch and 16 benches for the ceremony. When she needed 80 wooden school chairs picked up from the south side of Edmonton, he went and loaded them in his trailer.
He also made the arbour the couple was married under using antique doors her mom had found in Saskatchewan. It was set up beside an old picket fence from the bride’s grandmother’s yard.
It rained on the wedding day —
even during the ceremony. But the bride says she couldn’t have had a better day.
“People said they didn’t notice it because of how well everything went, and I could have said the same thing, too.”
There were certain traditions that she knew she wanted.
“When he decided to propose, there was no question. I wanted to have a smudge,” she said.
A smudging ceremony is a centuries-old Indigenous custom that creates a cleansing, purifying smoke bath.
“It meant we were getting rid of all the negativity and bringing in a more positive step in our future. That’s kind of what a smudge does. Every time you have a powwow or a round dance — any ceremonial event — you start it with a smudge. You start with clean energy.”
The ceremony also included a blanket ceremony where the couple is wrapped together in a blanket symbolizing unity.
They exchanged vows, kissed and signed papers. The bride’s dress was custom-made by Vintage Opulence. Many of her friends had been sending her pictures of dresses they thought she’d like. When she looked closer at the designer they kept sending, she discovered it was the same woman who had made her steampunk Victorian grad dress seven years ago.
And so, how to top off a wedding steeped in both tradition and repurposed antiques? The Imperial March, of course — complete with five storm troopers and Darth Vader.
Since the groom is a massive Star Wars fan everyone had been asking her how she’d incorporate the films into her wedding.
“I said ‘Nope, definitely not. It won’t match.’ But in the back of my mind I was like, ‘I’m going to try to somehow sneak it in there in subtle ways.’ And it turns out I just made the biggest statement and it’s not subtle in any way.
“I had bought all of the girls moccasins as bridesmaids gifts and as I was thinking about what I wanted to get the groomsmen, the idea just came to me — storm trooper helmets.”
As a complete surprise to the groom, she sourced storm trooper helmets for the groomsmen and a Darth Vader helmet for the groom.
Near the end of the ceremony, after the blanket ceremony, the groomsmen donned their helmets and she presented him with his Darth Vader helmet.
“We were pronounced Mr. and Mrs. McKinney while he had the Darth Vader helmet on,” she said.
“I thought, ‘This is the best day of my life’,” said Tim McKinney.
They walked out to the Imperial March.
After, guests ate from the Lunch Pail Catering Company (thelunchpail.ca) food truck, and drank from the Old Fashioned Mobile Bar (atoasttoyou.ca/whatistheoldfashioned). Their friends provided the music — DJs Emma Frazier and Amber Byrne (Emmber), Richelle Ziola and the band Kane Incognito.
The hardiest of partiers pitched tents on the property in an area that became affectionately known as “tent town.”
The groom’s favourite part of the wedding was simply being around friends and family.
The bride’s was their first dance — the band had made an acoustic, danceable version of their song, a punk tune.
“Everyone lit up sparklers … Everybody was singing along,” she said.
“I wanted everyone to have a good time. And as long as everyone had a good time, I had a good time.”