The Citizen, 2018-03-01, Page 15THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018. PAGE 15.
2018 Wedtthi�?%ow&ue
Huron County probes to be perfect wedding setting
One happy family
It was the rare late October day in Huron County that was blessed with summer-like
temperatures when 'Citizen' Editor Shawn Loughlin and Jessica Mann married in Blyth. The
marriage brought together the Loughlin family from Durham Region with the Manns of
Lucknow in a beautiful ceremony and reception. From left: Kevin Austin and his partner Dana
Loughlin, the maid of honour and sister of the groom, their daughter Addyson, mother of the
groom Rose Loughlin, Shawn, Jessica and Jessica's parents, Lynne and Steve Mann. The
happy couple now resides in Blyth. (Photo courtesy of Heather Dietz Photography of Blyth)
Continued from page 14
would marry us and he accepted.
A number of other pieces would
eventually fall into place, but really
the wedding felt like the culmination
of a process that had been ongoing
for the previous 10 years.
Very early in our relationship I
think both Jess and I knew we
wanted to spend the rest of our lives
with each other and that we wanted
to do that in Huron County.
We've been lucky on a number of
fronts to be able to live out that
dream. Buying our house in Blyth
two and a half years ago, I think we
both knew that getting married
would be the logical next step.
After 10 months of planning,
some months more intense than
others, we secured the best October
weekend in recent memory. It was
sunny all weekend with
temperatures hovering around mid-
summer -like temperatures without a
cloud in the sky.
We invited just over 100 people to
Blyth for the ceremony and
reception and very few were unable
to join us. With everyone put up at
the Benmiller Inn and Samuels
Hotel in Safford, the afternoon of
Saturday, Oct. 21 crept towards its
later hours and it was time to tie the
knot.
When I say that Oct. 21 was the
culmination of a process 10 years in
the making, I mean the process that
turned a Pickering native into
someone who wanted to live in
Huron County for the rest of his life.
Finding my life partner, a person
who wanted the same things out of
life, was a big part of that.
At 4 p.m. on Oct. 21, we made it
official and were married in front of
our friends and family in the
Threshers Hall at the brewery. When
we made our way down the stairs
and through the restaurant to go and
take our pictures, we were met with
applause from a full house of diners
congratulating us.
I was supported by best man Brett
Walther, my cousin Mike Teska and
friends Scott Wandless, Chris
Obergfell and Denny Scott, while
my sister Dana was Jess's maid of
honour. Jess's bridesmaids were her
cousin Ashley Anderson -Stanley and
friends Jade Bowman and Melissa
De Melo.
Our niece and goddaughter
Addyson, Dana's daughter, our
flowergirl, was walked down the
aisle by her father, Dana's partner,
Kevin Austin. My mother, Rose,
walked me to the front of the hall
and Jess's parents, Lynne and Steve,
walked her down the aisle, giving
her away using the exact same
phrase Lynne's father used when he
gave her away to Steve decades ago.
We were lucky to have wedding
bands custom-made by life-long
friend and Toronto-based jeweler
Alex Reid just months before he
retired. He also made Jess's
engagement ring back in December,
2016.
We took pictures on the Cowbell
site and then returned to Threshers
Hall for the reception. We ate, we
drank and we danced. There were
speeches, the reception was capably
emceed by good friend Zachary
Schraeder.
It truly was one of the best days of
our lives and it couldn't have been
better.
Voted one of the Tip S14D1�IIIS of )017
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—The Wingham Advance Times
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