My dear friend Thomas married his sweetheart Kyungshin in mid-September on the edge of Algonquin Island, a magical little greenspace just a ferryboat away from Toronto’s downtown chaos. It felt like a world away. A perfectly sunny day sparkling across the water, a slight breeze whispering to a thousand shiny leaves–light pinging off of everything. The lakeside ceremony was dreamlike, a blending of languages and cultures, song and stillness, and laughter and newness amidst one hundred smiling faces. 

This was a grassroots event, with many of the groom’s closest friends sweating away in the kitchen making food for the masses, setting tables or tying bouquets; ladies arriving with huge trays of fresh sushi or fresh-cut flowers from their backyards. So it was a bustling and busy crowd for the most part, everyone kind of claiming their role in the day while still enjoying the scene, the food and, of course, the booze.

Happy moods ran high, arms were full of hugs, boats made ripples in the moonlight as they taxied tipsy guests back to their waiting beds.

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