I'm celebrating my birthday today at Vale + Vine with a wedding that took place on the outskirts of the rural Manitoba town where I lived throughout my childhood.  I attended school and church in the little town of Oakbank, but my family's home was in the countryside just a few minutes' drive from Pineridge Hollow, where Julianne + Tjaden's bespoke countryside wedding took place.  Pineridge Hollow is an event venue, restaurant, and boutique where a number of my friends and family have worked and even gotten married.  Every time I visit Manitoba and stay with relatives just down the road, we dine here and wander the grounds.  I return to my roots with orders of Ukrainian perogies (we Mennonites call them verenki), Manitoba farmer sausage, and bison burgers making my mouth water.  Pineridge Hollow is only about a 30-minute drive from Winnipeg, but it's a cozy neck of the woods that allows you to leave the busy city scene for a time.  It's an ideal spot for a country wedding in the Canadian prairies, especially one photographed by fine art film photographer Brittany Mahood of Winnipeg.  

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