SHE was a June bride the first time, 10 years ago, in her home country of the Philippines.
And this past weekend, North Vancouver's Ruchel Dacanay was a June bride once again - renewing her vows to husband Lemwell Dacanay in a surprise backyard ceremony organized by her friends.
She carried a bouquet of pink and red roses, and wore a tiara and a wedding dress with long lace sleeves down the aisle.
"It was like a real wedding," said Ruchel, the day after the ceremony - but better.
This time, she'll have the photos to remember the day by.
When Ruchel and Lemwell Dacanay were married 10 years ago, they were both young and neither of them had much money. But they scraped together what they needed, helped by Lemwell's sister, and tied the knot in a civil garden ceremony.
They had a photographer, but no money to order photos, so they waited.
But when the couple went back a month later, they found the photo studio shut. Neighbours told them the photographer had left town.
The newlyweds didn't have long to dwell on their misfortune though. Ruchel left the Philippines to work as a nanny, ending up in North Vancouver. Their intention was that Lemwell would eventually join her.
They saw each other twice in the next six years. Eventually, Ruchel became a permanent resident in Canada, and Lemwell followed her.
He had only one photo - a blurry, distant shot taken by a relative - to help convince immigration officials that they were actually married.
Once in a while, the subject of the lost wedding photographs would come up when Ruchel was chatting with friends.
As the couple's 10th anniversary approached, her friends took notice - and began secretly scheming, with Lemwell's help. One found a second-hand wedding dress she thought would fit Ruchel. They began to slip certain questions into conversation: What was her your favourite colour? What flowers did she like?
As their anniversary date approached, Ruchel said she started to suggest ways she and Lemwell could celebrate. Maybe they could take a long drive. Or have friends over for dinner.
Her husband didn't seem interested, however.
Instead, he announced they were going out to a restaurant. They'd have to stop by first at a friend's, though, who had a coupon for a discount. When they arrived at the friends house in North Vancouver, Ruchel remarked that her friend seemed to be dressed up. "I'm going to a wedding," she said.
Then the blindfold came out. Ruchel knew then this was no ordinary anniversary. She was led into the house where her husband paused to ask her a question. Given all that had happened in the past 10 years, would she still want to marry him? She would, she said.
"I was crying under the blindfold." She was taken to a room where her wedding dress was waiting.
Outside, the backyard was decorated with streamers and pink peonies. There was a wedding cake and flower girls wearing corsages. One of the guests stood in to walk her down the aisle.
Ruchel, said Lemwell, was more beautiful on Sunday than she'd been the first time they married. Fittingly, their first dance was to the song, "You're still the one."
This week, the couple was still overwhelmed by the kindness of their friends - including chief organizer Angelina Valle.
They're looking forward to the next chapter of their lives as a married couple, they said - and to being able to look back many years from now on photos of their special day.
