Love can move mountains: a real elopement

Mekhala Zaman & Dylan Foster

The bride had a visions of a movie romance, and that’s just what she got. Mekhala shares her story with us.

“I always wanted a love story that was reminiscent of “You’ve Got Mail” circa 1998. So when I started my adventure of online dating and met Dylan, I felt like Meg Ryan starring in my own romantic comedy. After communicating back and forth, he asked me out on a date. I was nervous to meet him in person because I remember thinking to myself: ‘Wow, he’s cute, but too good to be true’. I was certain he would probably cancel our date.

Finally, the day of the date arrived and we were meeting for coffee. I was nervous and early and he was late. I was certain that I was about to be ghosted. Then I saw him around the corner! He apologized for being late and convinced me to stay for coffee. He was funny, easy to talk to and easy on the eyes. Then coffee turned into drinks, drinks into dinner and then sunset walk by the Bow River in our beautiful city. When he dropped me off to my car, we both knew we had to see each other again. The rest as they say is history!

I am Bengali Canadian and I love my culture! Dylan and I wanted to showcase coming together of two different cultures with our own flair to it. So we planned a wedding that had a traditional henna night for the brides with girlfriends, then a very intimate ceremony in the dress of my dreams, a beautiful white gown then changing into our cultural reception attire called Lehenga. The reception was going to have a delicious mixture of East Indian and Canadian cuisine. Tying it all together with our first dance as husband wife to traditional cultural music, dancing and games. The world had a different plan.

We had pivot our wedding to something more intimate and romantic and safe for our guests. Our big day took place at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge. The day started with Champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries and ended with a sunset ceremony on site with the beautiful mountains as our backdrop. Our guests included immediate friends and family members, and some joined us via Zoom. 

I have so many favourite moments from the day, but if I had to pick one it would be seeing Dylan’s reaction when he first saw me in my dress. It was a really sweet moment. Then I loved seeing him laugh and smile as we promised ourselves to each other.

We are planning to have a reception in August 2021. As we speed through 2021 and adjust to our new normal, we want to consider and weigh all risks vs. benefits of having a reception during the current state of the pandemic. The last year has taught us to be adaptable and flexible about wedding planning and we plan to practise that this year as we keep a close eye on the numbers. We would love to celebrate with everyone, but we want to do it safely.

The best advice we have for couples planning a wedding during a pandemic is to embrace the uncertainty and not lose sight of why you are getting married. We feel that having an intimate ceremony with your closest friends and family is romantic and you really get to rejoice in the day with your loved ones as they celebrate you.”