Welcome to Krista & Matthew's Wedding Album

You can click your mouse on any of the pictures below to enlarge them.

Thanks for dropping by!

Our household icons (made by Fr. Vladimir) beautify the head table, along with the Korovai (traditional bread) made by Krista's Baba.

Krista Eriksson & Matthew Francis... are now "Mr. and Mrs. Francis!

May 28th, 2005

Matthew's best man, Ryan Wugalter, made a hilarious speech as a toast to Matthew.
Teri Naconechny, Krista's Maid of Honour, also made a speech in honour of the Bride, but we don't have a pictures of that one right now.

Krista's parents, Fr. Phillip and Barbara Eriksson, and my parents, Ted and Helen Francis, spoke from their hearts.

Our good friend, David Goa, served eloquently as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening. He brought messages from Father Orest, Derek and Sandra, and Pam & Cameron and Brody and Todd, who could not be with us, but wanted to share in the festivities and wish us well.

Jordan and Kim (and a few others) had fun decorating the head table in lights. Beautiful!

Krista shared a song she wrote recently...

Krista and i had our first dance as husband and wife to the song "Far, Far, Away," by Wilco. Krista was in ballet for ten yeas and is an incredible dancer...me... not so much! That said, people seeing this picture have said that Krista is so good, she makes it look like I can dance, and, even lead!

Krista danced with her Dad to the Bob Carlisle song "Butterfly Kisses."

Krista and I posed for the picture of us cutting the Krensika, and then served each other in the traditional way.

This is the traditional Norwegian wedding cake called "Krensika" made for us by Krista's Auntie Naomi, in honour of Krista's grandma. Auntie Naomi and Gabe played an amazingly clever prank on us the day before the wedding with a "stunt double" for this cake. By the way, the Krensika is made of marzipan and is incredibly delicious.

This is the the traditional Ukrainian wedding cake called a "korovai." It is actually a braided bread that was made especially for our wedding by Krista's Baba, and decorated with these birdies by Baba and Krista's Mum. It is proudly displayed in our home as a sign of hospitality.

"I wanna rock 'm roll all night..."

Where did this bizarre custom originate? It must come from the chivalrous days of knights and ladies. Terry Machnee caught (and proudly displays) this small circle of fabric.

Isn't this an awesome picture of Krista? We had no idea that Dave Stobbe (our brilliant photographer) was even catching this. Maria (wearing the blue dress in the centre) made a strong effort, but in the end Ashley caught the bouquet. This was taken very shortly before we headed home. What an unforgettable day and night!

It was so amazing to see all our friends and family outside in the brightness after the service.

Annika jazzed up the windows & Rachel attached the pom-poms.

Erin and Rachel deck out our car, while Mike and Matt just take it easy.

The first household icons given to the newly married couple are of Christ and His Holy Mother Mary. These icons were generously made for us by Fr. Vladimir, a monk from New Valaamo Monastery in Finland, who we got to know at St. Herman's during our engagement. They were a gift from him and we are so honoured by his generosity to us. These icons now have a special place in our home. The Song "All Ye Nations Clap Your Hands in Exaltation," was sung and the church bells rang!

Matt Friesen and Rachel Grier are visible in this picture, second from the ends.

We share a common cup of wine during the Crowning part of the service. This demonstrates how all our joys and sorrows are shared.

We like this picture, because, once again, Christ is at the centre.

Terri and Ryan follow us during the "Dance of Isaiah" with our wedding candles, handmade for us as a gift from by Bishop Varlamm.

Our first steps as husband and wife are guided by the Cross.

Are we married yet?

Gabe Lanteigne from Chilliwack, a good friend of Matthew's, served as a groomsman... unfortunately there's no picture like this of Matthew Friesen, Matthew's other groomsman, who came from Uppsala, Sweden for the wedding. You can see him in some of the group shots though.

Mike Angus, a longtime friend of Matt's from Calgary, also stood by him as a Groomsman.

Matthew's best man was his good friend since Grade 3, Ryan Wugalter.

In the Orthodox Church, the Bride and Groom are crowned. There are several reasons for this, but the two that immediately come to mind are: 1) Marriage requires unselfish love - we must "die" to our own selfishness and give ourselves wholeheartedly to our spouses in marriage. So these crowns are the crowns of true "martyrs" who witness to Christ's love. 2) The Bride and the Groom are called to be stewards of God's kingdom, partnering with Him in Creation, making a new home and a Christian family. We were blessed that Matthew's sister Kim made our crowns.

"Crown them with Glory and Honour!"

Krista's Dad, Fr. Phillip Eriksson, served the Crowning part of the service, and gave the sermon. His message very powerfully reminded us that Marriage is not something we are capable of doing alone. We need God's help. Matthew had tears for the first time in ten years during this time in the service. It was a very powerful moment.

Greg Fedor led the singers, most of whom are our friends from St. Herman's. It was beautiful. All our favourites: The Angel Cried, What Shall I Render?, Come Bless the Lord All Ye Servants of the Lord, and, of course, the Alaskan Alleluias.

When they arrived at Church, Krista's Mom and her had a special moment together.

Krista's Mom and Dad walked her into the Church for the Betrothal. The choir sang "The Angel Cried," perhaps the most joyous Paschal hymn of the Orthodox Church.

We exchanged rings that had just been blessed.

Our priest, Fr. Dennis, who Krista has known all her life, served the Betrothal part of the service. We like Fr. Dennis a lot.

Having met my beautiful bride at the door of the Church, I procede to kiss her Dad, Fr. Phillip. Yep, we get along pretty good! Terry Fach, Mike Hansen, and Sean Pullen are all visible in background.

At the door of the Church, the "Betrothal" part of the service. Note that Christ is in the centre.

Krista's life long friend from Holy Res, Erin Papish... unfortunately, there's no picture like this (in this file, anyway) of Krista's other dear and lifelong friend, Rachel Grier, who was also one of her beautiful bridesmaids.

The Maid of Honour... Krista's best friend Terri.

Krista's sister, Annika Eriksson.

A Place for Images... May 28, 2005

Since we have been taking our sweet time in getting more than a few wedding pictures out there, we've set up this separate place for just that...

Those that were there... thank you for sharing our special day!

Those that were there in spirit.. thanks for your prayers!

We love you,

Matthew and Krista