Toronto Maple Leaf captain Dion Phaneuf and Hollywood actress Elisha Cuthbert married
SUMMERFIELD, P.E.I.
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf married actress Elisha Cuthbert at a private ceremony on Saturday.
Phaneuf, 28, and Cuthbert, 30, have been together since 2008 when the defenceman was a member of the Calgary Flames.
Cuthbert is best known for her roles on the children's program "Popular Mechanics for Kids" and the television drama "24."
The ceremony took place at St. James Catholic Church in Summerfield, P.E.I., while the reception was held at the couple's summer residence in New London.
The couple drove away from the ceremony in a vintage Camero SS that Cuthbert gave to Phaneuf as a wedding gift.
( Source 1 )
---
Actress Elisha Cuthbert is a married woman after exchanging vows with ice hockey star Dion Phaneuf.
The 24 beauty wed her longtime beau, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Phaneuf, in a romantic outdoor ceremony at St. James Catholic Church on Prince Edward Island in their native Canada on Saturday.
More than 300 guests were in attendance at the nuptials and they celebrated the union with a reception at the groom's waterfront estate nearby, according to the National Post.
Speaking before the wedding, Reverend Paul Egan, who led the service, told the local publication, "It's a big wedding. Probably the biggest I've ever done in my 46 years, as far as the celebrity part of it goes."
The couple began dating in 2008 and the 28-year-old sportsman popped the question last year.
Cuthbert, 32, has always been a fan of ice hockey's leading men - the star has previously dated Sean Avery and Phaneuf's former Maple Leafs teammate Mike Komisarek.
( Source 2 )
---
SUMMERFIELD, P.E.I.—The bride was a half hour late and the groom was “a wreck".
“Is this normal?" an anxious, fidgeting Dion Phaneuf asked the priest. “Does this happen a lot? Uh, what am I supposed to do now?"
Rev. Paul Egan: “Calm down son. Brides are always late." Pause. “Never had one late by half an hour though."
Thirty minutes. A life time, or close to the Maple Leaf captain’s typical ice minutes in any given game.
The guests were already assembled, expectantly, inside St. James Catholic Church, sticky and wilting in their pretty finery, no air conditioning on a blistering hot Saturday afternoon. And what a sports glitterati crowd it was: More than a dozen of Phaneuf’s teammates, Leaf executives, a slimmed down Brian Burke — the kind of celebrity-studded roster this island has never before witnessed.
Finally, well past the appointed hour, the bride came over the bench. Actress Elisha Cuthbert, genuine Hollywood bold face, arrived in a froth of veiling and silk, delivered to the church in a vintage black Camaro convertible — top up — stopping only briefly outside to turn and wave to cheering spectators who’d lined the highway.
Twenty minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Dion Phaneuf emerged, beaming. He got behind the wheel and off they drove to Phaneuf’s sprawling shoreline estate just outside New London, down a private road guarded by hired security, no doubt to dance the night away.
The couple had tried mighty hard to keep their wedding in the vault, few details leaking, and guests allegedly discouraged from tweeting out any of the details. At Thursday’s rehearsal, Cuthbert remained inside the church until a small huddle of paparazzi had given up and left photo-less.
It’s not a very aggressive media, here on Prince Edward Island. Really, yours truly was the only trespasser attempting to crawl through the brush abutting Phaneuf’s property, thinking, I’m getting way too old for this.
My usual go-to Leaf contacts weren't having anything to do with abetting the enemy. “Will not assist in any way," emailed one insider. “The Star looks like the Sun here."
See, that doesn’t bother me. The last time I was in P.E.I. on assignment, stalking another individual — this one with a restraining order in hand — a furious Supreme Court judge gave me 24 hours to get off the island or he would throw my arse in jail.
Surely Phaneuf would not be so touchy. I mean heck, this is a guy I’ve seen naked.
Okay, too much information.
But it was a beautiful wedding in a lovely setting, designed and arranged by the couple without any professional help. Engaged for a year, they’d had ample time to plan every detail.
Taking a cue from the royal wedding of William and Kate two years ago, Elisha brought the outdoors indoors with half-a-dozen maple leaf saplings scattered around the pews, bouquets of white roses and freesia festooned along the aisle, ceremonial music provided by trio of flutist, violinist and piano player, a bagpiper just beyond the threshold.
Egan, parish pastor for nearly two decades, recalls 11-year-old Phaneuf coming to this church with his parents, both of whom hail from prominent P.E.I. families. “Islanders have tried to be respectful about this wedding," Egan told the Star. “Of course, we’re used to seeing Dion and his fiancée around here in the summer. They’re just normal people.
“Maybe outsiders think this is a special wedding but, you know, all weddings are special."
Indeed, yet there’s certainly an extraordinary component in what amounted to a Leaf invasion.
Two buses had pulled up, decanting players, friends and family, Leafs ambling in that jock-walk way as non-invitee civilians ogled: Who’s that? Who’s that? Who’s that?
Well, that’s Phil Kessel and that’s James Reimer and that’s James van Riemsdyk and that’s Tyler Bozak — newly re-signed — and that’s Carl Gunnarsson and that’s just traded away Ben Scrivens. If Joffrey Lupul was present, I never clocked him.
Still, apparently, not enough Leaf-candy for some of the gawkers. “I thought Sydney Crosby was supposed to be here," grumped one lady, Wendy Walker, on the highway verge. “He was seen at Cornwall yesterday. That’s who I’m here for."
Well, why would Crosby be at Phaneuf’s nuptials?
“A beautiful ceremony," Leaf chairman Larry Tanenbaum said afterwards. “They looked like they were in love, as they should be and hopefully will be forever."
The Leaf suits flew in on a private jet Saturday morning.
GM Dave Nonis, fresh off a busy Day 1 of free agent wheeling and dealing, was debonair in pale window-pane check suit. “It was perfect, just like you’d expect. They looked very happy, you could see it in their faces."
He spent some time chatting after the vows were exchanged with now ex-Leaf Mike Komisarek, no hard feelings. “Not at all." Asked what else he might have up his sleeve on the player acquisition front, Nonis was cagey. “We’re going to try to do a few more things. We’ll see. I’ll be back at it tomorrow."
While Phaneuf has more than his share of critics — Lord knows they came howling out of the woodwork during Toronto’s seven-game, first-round playoff loss to Boston — he’s clearly held in high esteem by teammates. It’s no small jaunt, humping out to P.E.I.
“I can’t say if he was nervous," reported John-Michael Liles. “I was too far back in the church to see anything."
One busload of Leafs left the church and stopped at a chip wagon not far distant for popsicles en route to the reception and a bit of junk food to carry them over, tummies apparently rumbling — though a groaning board spread of lobster, chicken and a vegetarian dish awaited them.
“It’s great to see the players again," said Burke, tie typically removed. “Haven’t seen ’em since I got gassed."
The former Leaf general manager came stag. “I was told I could bring a date but I wanted to spend time with the guys."
Looked like it would be a long night at the reception bash for Elisha Ann Cuthbert and Dion Ronald Phaneuf — mister and missus now — under the marquee tents erected on the lawns stretching down to the water, birds twittering in the trees, almost impossibly romantic.
I, wedding crasher, backed off.
Got a bouquet from the church, though, and a formal wedding program.
“Go on, steal one," urged the good-humored priest. “I’ll forgive you."
( Source 3 )
My husband was late to my wedding too... longest 20 minutes of my life.
Anyone else with a tardy significant other?