Wedding bells ring at Muskoka Landing
Monday July 16, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
In honour of National Wedding Month, activity staff at Muskoka Landing Long-Term Care Centre organized activity days – including a mock wedding – June 25 and 27.

On June 27, residents John Fuller and Iris Schneider tied the knot at the scripted wedding, which featured staff members and volunteers in supporting roles, including the mothers of the bride and groom, a flower girl and even a drunken groomsman.

The mock wedding was attended by 38 residents and family members and was followed by a reception with a cake cutting.

Pamm Griffin, the Huntsville long-term care home’s activation co-ordinator, characterizes the events as “a huge success,” adding the emotional values to residents brought on by the event were immeasurable.

“The program sparked so many memories,” Griffin tells The Morning Report. “It’s almost as if the memories were hiding in a trunk. You have a special event and it helped bring those memories out.”

“It was a fun thing,” says Fuller, who helped write the wedding script, adding the event gave him a chance to showcase his vocal talents.

“At the reception I sang Let the Rest of the World Go By.”

On June 25, activity staff held Wedding Memories Day. Residents, staff members and volunteers brought in items such as wedding pictures, wedding gowns and knives used to cut wedding cakes. Residents also spent the day looking through bridal magazines and putting together a collage of photos which was pasted on a plate and put on display.

Part of the fun was playing a game where residents had to guess who was who in the old wedding pictures.

“It gives them a chance to talk about their wonderful pasts and to talk about their pleasant memories,” says Griffin. “A lot of our residents were married and you don’t get to hear those stories often.”

Looking at the memorabilia brought back fond memories for residents, says Griffin.

“The residents were laughing . . . a couple residents even had tears in their eyes,” she says.

This was the first time Muskoka Landing held events in recognition of National Wedding Month, but Griffin says it likely won’t be the last time.

“I would definitely do it again,” she says.