Brandon couple tying knot at Red River Ex

Saying “I do” at an untraditional wedding venue like Winnipeg’s Red River Exhibition may not be every couple’s dream destination, but it has sentimental value for soon-to-be newlyweds from Brandon.

Ashley Hutchison and Justin Moore had their first date at the Ex 13 years ago this month.

Moore said he was planning to propose to Hutchison on their anniversary, but he jumped at the opportunity to apply for the “Marriage on the Midway” contest the Ex was running in March. The contest has been revived from past years.

To his surprise, staff contacted him in April saying it was a “no-brainer” that he and Hutchison would be chosen as the lucky couple to get married on June 13.

“It’s gonna be fun. It’s so unique. It’s so different, spontaneous. That’s kind of who we are,” Moore said.

“It’s gonna be something for the memory books.”

The whole day was completely planned for them.

The wedding ceremony begins today at 2 p.m. in front of the ferris wheel with 55 guests, followed by family photos and a horse and carriage ride in a parade.

“From 3:30-ish p.m. till 7 p.m. everybody can just go do their own thing and enjoy the midway, have fair food, go on rides,” Hutchison said.

Then the couple goes on a romantic helicopter ride around the city before returning to the fairgrounds for their first dance.

The groom’s sister, Julianna Moore, will be singing the song for their first dance and the one with each of their parents.

The evening ends with fireworks.

The newlyweds were provided with a wedding photographer, a hotel stay in Headingley, 30 free fair passes, 20 free buckets of mini-donuts, 20 free meal vouchers, two floral arrangements and a bouquet and boutonniere, Hutchison said.

“For my bridesmaids, I chose to do something fair-related for them to carry, so I made fake cotton candy bouquets,” she said.

Her flower girl will toss individually wrapped pieces of cotton candy tied with bows in their wedding colours — pink and black — down the aisle instead of flower petals, she said.

Moore said he was working in Winnipeg for the summer and had met Hutchison online. She came to Winnipeg to meet him in person, and they had a fun time together at the fair.

“I kind of knew right then that this is going to be turned into something real and something serious,” he said.

“And here we are, 13 years later, through all the ups and all the downs, we’re still here together and succeeding, making the best of every day.”

Hutchison said she never imagined she would be marrying Moore based on their first date and took their relationship slowly.

“But then within a couple months, I realized this was the one that I wanted to spend more time with,” she said.

The first photo the couple took together was on the Sling Shot.

Moore said he doesn’t like rides, but he tried to “show no fear.” The date got him out of his comfort zone and he had a lot of fun, he said.

Knowing the couple have a special memory with the Sling Shot, staff from the Ex reached out to four different vendors to bring the ride to the fair this year, so the newlyweds could recreate that photo, Moore said. Unfortunately, their efforts were unsuccessful.

“They could not get it there, which I’m at peace with,” he said with a chuckle.

“I think everyone needs to experience that rush at least once in their life.”

The couple plans to go on the merry-go-round, the ferris wheel and the Mega Drop.

“I have like a traditional wedding dress, so it might be hard to go on some of the rides just because I might not be able to buckle in properly,” Hutchison said.

Maegan Sigurdson, event co-ordinator at the Ex, said the “Marriage on the Midway” contest is meant to promote the opening of a new wedding and event centre at the park in the fall.

The Ex has previously held midway weddings in the ’00s, Sigurdson said, adding she was unsure whether they will bring the contest back next year.

“I’d love to see it continue, but we’ll see what happens or if we take a different approach at it,” she said.

“It’s definitely a fun twist on a wedding,”

She said the Ex received more than 100 entries and it was sweet to read people’s love stories.

The fair opened on Friday and runs until June 21.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com