There are so many ways a wedding can get derailed, but “having your power knocked out by a beaver” isn’t a contingency most people plan for.
Yet that’s exactly what happened during a wedding ceremony taking place in Saskatchewan’s Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. The reception for Kim and Calum Martin found itself without lights, music, or cooking appliances when a beaver chewed through a utility pole, knocking out power to the whole area.
Fortunately, quick-thinking staff didn’t take long to fire up some romantic lighting in the form of candles, and a couple of generators provided enough juice for lamps, music, and food service. “The food was hot, the music was loud, there were drinks—there was everything we wanted. There was less light, but that really was it and that wasn’t a big deal to us,” Kim Martin told CTV News.
Martin said that seeing the staff pull together to make the event happen made her wedding feel extra special, and as for the beaver (which got away scot-free), it made the event that more unique.
“It doesn’t sound like something that would happen in real life,” Martin told Maple Creek News, “but in Canada it can.”
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The utility pole was the only thing resembling a tree in the area, making it a target for the wood-hungry beaver.
Photos of the downed power pole reveal that it was the only tall structure in sight. Without any trees in the area, it’s not surprising that the beaver chose it as a candidate for gnawing.
And while not everyone would consider a power disruption to be a positive thing, Martin—a wildlife enthusiast and steadfast camper—took it as a good sign. “We think it was a blessing, as our Canadian wedding was blessed by the beaver,” she told CTV. “It makes it extra special.”