A couple about to marry at the historic Algonquin Resort in St. Andrew's, N.B. were treated with a wedding present this weekend that left them speechless.
On the eve of Peter and Peggy MacLeod's wedding, hotel management staff decided to interrupt the couple's rehearsal party to present them with a signed card from the staff, along with a giant white box.
"We didn't know what was in it," Peggy told CTV's Canada AM by phone from her honeymoon suite at the Algonquin.
"We really didn't care. We were just so happy to have a venue and that the wedding was getting close."
When the couple opened the box, it was filled with dozens of white helium balloons and one red, heart-shaped balloon. Attached to that balloon was a note from the hotel saying that in the Christmas spirit, they had decided to tear up the bill for their entire wedding.
The wedding dinner and all the hotel rooms they had reserved were given to them, gratis.
Algonquin General Manager Tim Ostrem said the hotel, which was built in 1889, has been undergoing an extensive, $35-million renovation and the MacLeods had put up with several venue changes and inconveniences during their wedding plans with little complaint.
He said special events staff at the hotel were so impressed by how great the couple was to work with, they wanted to do something special for them.
"Peter and Peggy (MacLeod and Tucker) are sincere people of goodwill, so we decided to celebrate their kind-hearted natures with a gift of our own," Ostrem said.
He said he also hoped their gesture might inspire others to "find their own ways to share the love" during the holiday spirit.
Peter MacLeod, meanwhile, says that while he feels touched, he also feels a little bit relieved that his next credit card bill will be a lot smaller than he had anticipated.
"I guess it was like a Band-Aid going on my gold card," he said with a laugh.
