Nearly one year on from an unthinkable and devastating family tragedy, Katie Gaudreau got the wedding she should’ve had last August were it not for a drunk driver.
11 months after the sudden and tragic deaths of NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, Katie got married to high school sweetheart Devin Joyce in a ceremony in New Jersey.
At the end of last August, Johnny and Matthew were riding their bikes the day before Katie was set to be married when they were struck and killed at the ages of 31 and 29 respectively. Both brothers were set to serve as groomsmen in the wedding.
Now, Katie and Devin tied the knot at St. Mary’s Church in Gloucester City, New Jersey before crossing the Delaware River for a reception at The Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia.
After the wedding, Katie exclusively opened up to People Magazine about pre-marriage anxiety and how she was able to manage her grief over the loss of her brothers.
‘It’s hard to put into words how much has shifted and how much I’ve carried in my heart since last August,’ she told the outlet.
Katie Gaudreau, the sister of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, tied the knot this weekend
Her wedding was postponed eleven months after her brothers’ untimely deaths last August
Katie and her husband, Devin Joyce, exchanged vows in New Jersey on Saturday
‘Back then, we were preparing with so much love and excitement. I remember the way John and Matty lit up — how genuinely happy they were to celebrate Devin and me. Their joy was radiant, effortless and contagious.’
Katie said she was trying ‘so hard to return to that emotional space, to honor the moment as [Johnny and Matthew] would have,’ but knew that things would be different without her brothers.
‘And I know, deep in my heart, that they would have wanted us to feel love — not just their love — but all of it: the kind that surrounds us, uplifts us and reminds us that we are not alone in any of this,’ she explains.
‘So today, I hold both the sorrow of their absence and the beauty of their presence. Their love didn’t leave.’
Devin told the outlet, ‘[We knew] this wedding would be completely different from what we planned last year — we’re missing two of the most important people who should be here with us. It wouldn’t be the same, but it would still be a celebration of love — ours and theirs.’
Initially, the couple planned to host the reception in Philadelphia at The Lucy – a wedding venue in Center City. However, after re-scheduling due to her brothers’ untimely deaths, she couldn’t hold the ceremony there.
‘I needed something different,’ she told the outlet. ‘The Lucy was never going to be what my dream wedding was because I was missing two essential pieces of our day.’
Instead, the couple picked The Bellevue – which had an attached hotel. After the horrific events of the year prior, that became an important element for Katie.
The couple then went to Philadelphia for a reception to celebrate their union
Katie admitted to having anxiety about her ceremony relating to the tragedy from last summer
‘I wanted a space where we could all be together the night before — somewhere we could sleep over, wake up together, and just be, without having to leave or be separated,’ Katie said, adding, ‘I was having a lot of anxiety about everyone leaving the venue after the reception and something happening, so I wanted a space where we would all be together.’
To help with the healing, over a dozen vendors donated their services for the ceremony and reception out of the kindness of their hearts.
‘This past year has brought the kind of grief that changes you. Many days, the ache of missing them was so deep, it felt hard to breathe. But alongside that pain, there has also been immense and unwavering love,’ Katie says.
‘It is this love that has carried us through love from our tight-knit community, the hockey family, and from people across the country and even around the world.’
She adds, ‘It’s impossible to describe what it means to feel that kind of support when your world has been shattered. But we felt it. And we still do. Our family will carry that love with us forever.’
