Shelby and Brett are both Fort Frances locals who met back in their elementary school days, so their wedding last July was the culmination of years of friendship blossoming into love.
“Brett and I have known each other since elementary school,” Shelby said.
“We attended different schools but through sports and stuff we got to see each other and play against each other, so we’ve known each other a long time.”
They became closer as friends in high school but it wasn’t until after high school that the relationship became more.
“Shortly after high school is when we started our relationship and dating, and we’ve been together for eight years now,” Shelby said.
They got engaged on a trip to Arizona in May 2023.
For their big day they considered different options, including going away from home for a destination wedding, but they ultimately settled on having their ceremony at Mud Lake City.
“We were hesitant about where we were going to do it,” she said.
“There’s limited options around her for venues, especially if you want it outdoors and you have to worry about the weather and all that. But we ended up having it in Fort Frances, and we were able to find an outdoor venue sort of just through word of mouth, it’s called Mud Lake City, it’s a privately owned property.”
Area residents may know the place as it has formerly hosted live music events, and it’s technically located in Box Alder, south of Devlin.
“It hasn’t really been ‘operating,’” Shelby said.
“But we talked to the owners and they agreed to let us host our wedding on their property.”
The owners allowed Shelby and Brett to make the place their own to a certain degree and fix things up to make it nice for their wedding day.
“It was a lot of prep work, a lot of time and energy went into prepping the property to make it what it was for the wedding day,” she said.
“Brett spent weeks and weeks and weeks out there doing everything from hauling gravel to level out the driveway, planting grass, you name it, it was a lot of work. It ended up being so beautiful.”
After the ceremony there was a cocktail hour at the venue as well.
“We did a cocktail hour out there afterwards with some snacks, which my friend Lena [Morelli] who was in my wedding party, she owns Eat Best Charcuterie and she did our snacks, it was really nice to incorporate her into the day,” Shelby said.
“Unfortunately or fortunately, however you want to look at it, we got a little bit of rain which they say is good luck. We had a tent set up so people were able to kind of get a little bit of shelter
After the ceremony, the party moved back into Fort Frances for the reception at La Place Rendez-Vous, which was where they also got ready for the day and stayed for the night after the reception.
“I have nothing but good things to say about the Rendez-Vous,” Shelby said.
“They were so helpful throughout the entire process. I like details and any little detail that I wanted or that I had envisioned they helped me bring to life and they were so easy to work with.”
The hotel was the location of the dinner and dance which was DJed by Jay McFarlane with 2 Tone Music Productions in Fort Frances.
They had desserts by Cals Cheesecake Creations as well as a wedding cake by Batter & Cream Baking Co.
They had their photos taken by Kim Chorney of Wild, Barefoot & Free photography and video by Prairie Film Co. out of Winnipeg.
They got their flowers from Lowey’s Greenhouse and Market Garden.
The chaos of planning the wedding means they haven’t taken a honeymoon yet, but they are hoping to do something either later this spring or in the fall.
“We’re actually working on that now,” Shelby said when asked about a honeymoon.
“Planning all the wedding and then planning a honeymoon was too much, so we’re actually planning to go hopefully in May, if not September, and we’re going to do either a Euro trip or go to Southeast Asia.”
Shelby says the whole day was great, but one of the things that sticks out in her memory is the view walking down the aisle.
“The day was a blur, but it was the greatest day of my life,” she said.
“Honestly, walking down the aisle and seeing all the people I love in front of us was, I think, the coolest part of my day, and obviously seeing Brett at the end of the aisle there, that’s something that really sticks in my brain.”
