25th Wedding Anniversary

December 2013.

My husband and I decided to visit his family in Manitoba and spend Christmas with them. Everybody will be home, even his brother and his wife who live in a different province like we do. So it was pretty special that everybody will get to visit everyone. What their parents did not know at the time was that their children have been planning a surprise 25th wedding anniversary party for them. I remember the many phone calls my husband had to make to contact old friends of his parents and family members he has not seen nor spoken too for a long time.

We used the basement of a church not far from their home as a venue. With the help of all his siblings and family friends we were able to prepare some food and decorate the place without their knowledge. On the day of the reveal, I’m sure they were suspecting something was fishy but I don’t think they knew exactly what’s going on.

When they entered the venue that night, they were in for a good surprise! It was one memorable event, even for me as an outsider looking in. Their faces beamed with gladness as they recall lots of fond memories of the good ol’ days. It was very euphoric.

I wasn’t sure what to give them as an anniversary gift. I didn’t want to just buy something from the store. This kind of occasion calls for something more special than priced tag item.

I want to give them something personal… a gift that has a piece of me in it.

And so I emailed one of their daughters to ask for an electronic copy of their wedding photo. She sent me a few, and this one was my favorite. I started sketching it right away. The more my eyes soak in the details of this photo, the more I realized that my mother-in-law has a very cunning resemblance to my husband. From the curly hair, to the oval face, and even the beautiful Irish nose.

To finish this sketch in time, I brought my sketchpad and pencils to work. Whenever I had a free time, I worked at it.

Slowly, it took it’s form. The lines and strokes of my pencils attempted to capture what transpired that very day. It was a beautiful photo. I hope I did it justice.

(For more artwork, click here). 

Did anybody else notice I got the date wrong in my sketch? Ooopss.