Here are just a few glimpses of the day.

Before becoming St Brigid’s Centre for the Arts and Humanities in 2009, St Brigid’s was a Roman Catholic church located in the Lowertown neighbourhood of Ottawa, Canada which was built to serve the English-speaking, Catholic population of the area. Until the opening of St Brigid’s, this community, largely of Irish heritage, had formed part of the parish of Notre-Dame, the Cathedral of Ottawa. By 1870, the Irish percentage of the population had declined relative to that of the French Canadian. As a consequence, the Irish played an ever diminishing role in the life and management of Notre-Dame.
 
Discussions to establish a distinct anglophone parish and church for Lower Town began in March 1888. A committee of parishioners from Notre-Dame Cathedral held meetings with the Archbishop of Ottawa, the Most Rev. Joseph-Thomas Duhamel. It was agreed to create a new parish; a site for the church chosen; and by May 3, 1888, James R. Bowes had been chosen as architect. The plans called for a substantial structure at the corner of St Patrick and Cumberland Streets. Built in the Romanesque Revival style (generally called Norman at that time), the principal façade has three heavy round headed portals and paired towers of unequal height and detail. The taller (eastern) tower is capped with a stylized bishop’s mitre placing the church and its Irish parishioners squarely in the Ultramontanist tradition of the Catholic Church. Work began on St Brigid’s in 1889 and the Blessing of the completed Church took place on August 3, 1890.
 
In May 2006 Archbishop Marcel Gervais announced that the church would be closed, as the shrinking congregation did not justify the several hundred thousand dollars in needed repairs. The parishioners objected vehemently to this, and even took the archdiocese to court in an attempt to keep it open, but these efforts failed.

The deconsecrated building was purchased by four investors in the fall of 2007 for $450,000. After extensive structural rennovations, the building has been transformed into an Irish-Canadian heritage centre and social venue hosting art exhibitions, plays, and concerts.

Then we had some fun! With a few easy additions to their glamourous attire, the bridal party was made over. The girls got feather boas and the guys got fedoras and cap guns to complete the look. The photo’s were set with a poker table and cigars. I have included a few examples below.

More pics will come, but here are a few of my more artsy shots. I will have more on a theme wedding in a future post, but, when done right, it can be fantastic!

Albums will be available for review shortly.

Janna

Janna