Surrounded by friends and family but few politicians, Justin Trudeau and bride Sophie Grégoire tied the knot in Montreal over the weekend in a ceremony that drew enough media and onlookers to suggest that a Trudeau still has drawing power.
The pair exchanged vows in a church wedding Saturday in Montreal's upscale Outremont district, not far from the federal riding that Justin's father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, represented for years in Parliament.
"I'm so happy for my brother. I'm so grateful that he found love," Alexandre Trudeau, Justin's 31-year-old brother, said outside the Sainte-Madeleine d'Outremont Church after the service.
Guests described the ceremony as joyous, intimate and taking place in both official languages, befitting the son of the father of official Canadian bilingualism. A gospel choir played Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and, during the benediction, a bagpiper played Amazing Grace. It summoned up the memory of both the late prime minister and of Michel Trudeau, the youngest Trudeau son, who died in an avalanche in 1998.
After the nuptials, the newlyweds stopped outside to kiss under the beaming eyes of Margaret Trudeau, who wed Pierre Trudeau in a private ceremony 34 years ago. Justin was born nine months later and has lived in the public eye ever since.
In a sign that Canada's political progeny aren't partisan, one of the wedding guests was Ben Mulroney, son of former Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney. He said he felt lucky to be part of the "intimate" event and described the ceremony as "tasteful and beautiful."
"You could tell this was exactly what they wanted -- their friends and family," Mr. Mulroney added.
The couple met at a society ball two years ago and 33-year-old Justin Trudeau proposed to Ms. Grégoire, a 30-year-old former television host, on Oct. 18 -- his late father's birthday. Their wedding party decamped to the opulent Saint James Hotel, where guests partied late into the night, said Senator Jacques Hébert.
"It really was a celebration of love," Mr. Hébert said yesterday in an interview. "These two young people manifestly love one another and married with all the pomp that shows the world they're doing something to last."