Show-stopping proposal turns into musical marriage as Manitoban set to get hitched in hometown
From a viral proposal to a public wedding, the music of love will flow through a small Manitoba community this weekend.
Violinist Rosemary Siemens will be marrying her partner Eli Bennett, from the band Five Alarm Funk, at the Plum Fest in Siemens' hometown of Plum Coulee, about 90 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg.
"They've been a part of my journey and I thought I wanted to do it back home so why not have everyone share in the most important day of my life," she said.
The show-stopping proposal went viral in March, after it was filmed during a concert in Gretna, Man., part of Siemens' Have a Little Faith Western Canada tour with her project Rosemary & the Sweet Sound Revival.
Siemens later learned how many people from her home community were involved in helping Bennett pull off the proposal, so she figured they should also be part of the celebration.
"My home community in Manitoba was involved and everyone was a part of the whole journey up until then so I thought why not include them in the special day because my home community has been so supportive in my career," she said.
As professional musicians, the couple has also played their fair share of weddings. Siemens said she knew she wanted to do something completely different, plus she wanted to share the talents of her musical friends.
"I'm going to have such world-class talent at my wedding. I thought why not share it with everyone, and because Plum Fest was going on it was the perfect way to do that because everyone can share in the concert, not just the wedding guests," she said.
The wedding celebrations started on Saturday morning with a community breakfast. Then Siemens and Bennett were the marshals during a parade through the community.
In the afternoon, hundreds are expected to attend a huge wedding concert featuring musicians like Juno-nominated Warren Dean Flandez and one of the original Canadian tenors. There will even be a cast member from the Real Housewives of Vancouver.
On Sunday, the town will get together to share a nine-foot-by-four-foot wedding cake, which was the largest the cake shop had ever made, Siemens said with a laugh.
"It's a treasure to grow up in a small town and know all the people and they've been so supportive," she said.
The weekend-long wedding celebrations will end with a wedding on Siemens' family farm with about 270 guests.
Of course, the music will continue there: Bennett will play a song for Siemens as she walks down the aisle, and the couple is playing a song before their vows.
