So it has been almost a year since our wedding. We still think about it all the time. It was such an extraordinary day for both of us. We can't really figure out just how to thank all of you for helping us and being there with us. As we both worked so hard to add personal touches to the ceremony and space(as did many many others - please see the thank you page), it was sincerely rewarding to see it manifest as beautifully as it did. The ceremony with Seemi, Pastor Richard Stetson and Mira's father was exquisite, The food was delicious, the music was great, the weather was perfect, but above all we both felt unprepared for how incredible the moment of being married really was. It wouldn't have been the same without our loved ones there to witness our vows and support us.
The last year has been wonderful and busy, with Mira working abroad and at home while Derek pursues his MFA at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. We just love being married. We are looking forward to his graduation next spring, and are talking about relocating to New York for a year. We have also bought our first apartment. It is located in the Woodwards project that is scheduled for completion in 2009.
And as you might have heard, we have decided to change our last name. It has been something we have explored over the last few years. As visual artists neither of us are very traditional. We decided that we both wanted the same last name and that it should have a connection to our families, (we love all of our families and don't want to separate or distance ourselves) but beyond that we were both pretty open minded. I think the impetus was that we both change our names, something new for both of us, to recognize the new part of our life we are embarking upon together. We experimented with hyphenated last name, which was a little too much and an amalgamated last name, which was a little too funny, unless you really like the idea of the Jurke or Bunck family. We knew we still wanted our name to connect us to our heritage so we started collecting names from both sides of our families: Junck, Burke, Perrigo, Dibble, Peck, Graham, Lafergie, DeBurgho, Molson, Hay, Lindsley, the list goes on and on. It was actually a great process: the collection of names and the stories associated with those names. In the end we have decided on something different, something unpredictable maybe, something new for both of us.
We have decided on Hunter, the last name of Derek's great-grandfather on his father's side, Otho Harvey Hunter. So this is the new us: Derek and Mira Hunter.
