Vancouver wedding planner Emma Blake can breathe a little easier. The upcoming weddings she's arranging just squeak between the Canucks' scheduled game days. But that's not to say her clients hadn't worried about the potential for conflict.
"They were certainly concerned about it before the official schedule was released," says Ms. Blake, founder of Elements Modern Weddings."If the schedule came out and the game was happening on the day, we would have to find some kind of arrangement for people to be able to view it."
Anyone getting married tomorrow, however, may find themselves having to share the spotlight with Raffi Torres, Roberto Luongo and the Sedin twins. This is, after all, the Stanley Cup finals, and as any Canucks fan will tell you, their team hasn't made it this far since 1994. Game two against the Boston Bruins starts at 5 p.m. PST, just in time for the champagne toast.
Ms. Blake says she was a bridesmaid in a 2004 wedding that coincided with a Stanley Cup finals game between the Calgary Flames and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The couple compromised by setting up a television so guests could follow the match.
For the groom, she says, "There was no option. He had to keep checking, even though it was his wedding day."
Thankfully, the bride had long accepted that the man she was marrying was an ardent Flames fan. (Perhaps there ought to be an addition to the traditional vows: "For better or worse or during the playoffs...")
Of course, it's not just wedding festivities that clash with critical sports events. If you've ever had a birthday or anniversary coincide with the World Cup or the World Series, you'll likely have been forced to work around it.
Would you miss a Stanley Cup finals game to attend a wedding?
Wency Leung