After being together for 13 years and engaged for eight, it’s official: Jillian Harris and Justin Pasutto are now married – andHELLO! CanadaHas all the amazing pictures! “Everything was perfect! But we’re definitely feeling rough today,” Jillian, 45, told us the morning after the celebration. “I don’t think we went to bed until four o’clock! Everyone danced as long as they could – until the band stopped playing!” “We definitely enjoyed all the great wines and sparkling drinks,” added Justin, 37. He said that although they were tired, the wedding – a five-day event that featured a church ceremony, rehearsal dinner, bachelorette/bachelor day, a big outdoor party on their farm, and a closing dock party – was totally worth it.
After a Christmas morning proposal in 2016, the engaged couple tried four times to organize a wedding but eventually decided to concentrate on their lives: caring for two kids – son Leo, 9, and daughter Annie, 6 – writing, creating films, enduring the pandemic lockdown, and recovering from a significant portion of their Kelowna, B.C., home being damaged in the McDougall Creek fire two years prior.
Although an Italian destination wedding was considered, they chose to remain near their friends and family, getting married first in a small church ceremony, and then having a larger celebration on their farm in Kelowna, B.C.
“It was a very traditional Catholic ceremony,” Jillian explained about the church wedding. “I’m not Catholic, and I never really thought about getting married in a church, but it was something that was really significant to Justin and his family, as well as my dad. I actually resisted it for a while, but then I understood just how important it was to our family.” This resulted in the choice to have two ceremonies.
Jill had this idea for the wedding on our farm,” he said. “I never saw it, but she did. I don’t know how she does it. That’s what makes Jill who she is. And I helped bring her vision to life.
The couple believes the day unfolded exactly as intended. “Everything was perfect – completely perfect. It was a dream,” Jillain mentioned. “We are just so, so thankful and so fortunate. It was wonderful. The weather was wonderful. Everything went smoothly.”
Justin agreed with his new wife, noting that the vows were one of his favorite moments of the day. “Jillian dedicates a lot of her life to helping others, always putting everyone else before herself, with her heart on her sleeve. For me, it was a chance to stop everything and focus on her, to stand in front of our friends and family, express how deeply she means to me, and pledge my commitment to her for the rest of our lives.”
The couple took a contentious approach and chose to add children to the list of guests. What was the motivation? “We delayed getting married too long! Everyone around us has babies and kids now. This was also a significant day for our children, and I didn’t want them to feel left out. So I thought, ‘Forget it! We’re bringing the kids in!’
Leo and Annie had an amazing week, taking on special roles at the farm wedding as the ring bearer and flower girl. When Justin saw his daughter—dressed in a mini version of Jillian’s dress, but in blue—he was deeply moved. “It was just so beautiful to see my girls walking down the aisle, especially Annie and how proud she was of herself. I just started crying.”
Jillian tried on multiple wedding dresses, all tailored at the Candè Bridal shop. She even discovered a gown just a week before the wedding and knew it had to be the one she wore for the reception. “I really loved the church wedding dress they helped me personalize,” she said. “And I also loved the farm wedding dress. I felt like I was really good at finding the perfect dresses. But when I got to my final fitting, I caught a glimpse of that last one from the corner of my eye and couldn’t stop looking at it!”
Thinking back on their life as a couple, Jillian states, “Most people meet, get married, have children, and then live their lives. We did it the other way around. We’ve already experienced so much—loss, heartache, achievements, COVID-19, newborns, homes, television programs. We’ve gone through it all—and it hasn’t always been simple. We are very proud of the life we’ve created.”
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