Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/391714
Not only did lawn bowling bring Shannon Battles and Steven Santana, both originally from Victoria, together at the tender ages of 12 and 16, respectively, it would also eventually play a starring role in their wedding. "Steven and I started bowling competitively at a fairly young age, so we knew each other through our involvement with the sport," says Shannon, adding that it took years for the friendship to turn romantic. When the two nally did become a couple, things progressed fairly quickly. "From that point, it only took a year-and-a-half or so before he asked me to marry him," Shannon says, laughing. "It was a long time coming!" e proposal itself happened on Christmas Day. Steven picked up Shannon, a nurse, from the Vancouver hospital where she worked at the end of her shift. Rather than drive home, however, he detoured to Vancouver's Paci c Indoor Bowls Club and asked Shannon to join him on the pitch. "I thought maybe he was going to surprise me with a puppy — we'd recently been discussing getting a new dog," she says. "But he walked to the far end of the green and rolled a bowl [a lawn bowling ball] over to me." When Shannon bent down to pick up the bowl, she saw a ring taped to it. "I was so nervous, I don't remember exactly what I said, but I remember I probably rolled the worst bowl, form wise — it wobbled up the green," Steven laughs. "She asked if I wanted to try again . . . and then I got down on one knee. at's when I asked, 'Will you marry me?' " As the couple began to plan their wedding, the rst venue that came to mind was Victoria's Burnside Lawn Bowling Club — a designated heritage building built in 1922 — where they'd rst met. Since the two would be organizing the event from afar, they hired planner Barb Raymond of Victoria's French Kiss Events. "I love and am drawn to all things vintage, so the idea was to host an event inspired by an afternoon garden tea party — both to suit my style and t our budget," Shannon says. "Barb really brought that vision to life." While Steven liaised with the club to ready the grounds for the big day, Shannon worked with Barb to rent a vintage tea service, complete with patterned china and tiered cake stands, from Simply Sunday in Lawn bowling, doggie ring bearers and fl ip-fl ops? Shannon and Steven infused their big day with plenty of fun and informal touches, opting for an afternoon tea party reception to suit both their style and budget. Victoria-based wedding planner French Kiss Events helped bring the couple's vision to life, including vintage china and a menu featuring traditional teatime sweets and savouries. realweddings.ca 49