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Retired B.C. teacher gets invite to Property Brother wedding in Italy

Drew Scott and his fiance Linda Phan say B次元官网网址淚 doB次元官网网址 during week-long celebration in Puglia
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Linda Phan and Nina Fowell at the MotherB次元官网网址檚 Day tea. (Contributed)

ItB次元官网网址檚 rare that an elementary school teacher is invited to a former studentB次元官网网址檚 wedding.

But in a little village in southern Italy on May 12, retired teacher Nina Fowell was there with tears in her eyes to see Drew Scott and his long-time girlfriend, Linda Phan, tie the knot.

Drew and his twin brother Jonathan are best known for the Canadian television series Property Brothers, on which they help couples find fixer-uppers and transform them into dream homes. Most recently, Drew was featured on Dancing With The Stars.

The ceremony took place in Piazza del Borgo, between Bari and Brindisi in Puglia, along the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Guests stayed at the Borgo Egnazia. The wedding was featured in People magazine.

Fowell taught the Maple Ridge brothers, including their older brother JD, in her Grade 6/7 class at Yennadon elementary.

B次元官网网址淎 connection with a Grade 7 teacher is very special,B次元官网网址 Fowell said.

B次元官网网址淭he reason I like teaching that grade is because there is so much going on in their lives at that age. Their bodies are changing, their school is changing, who they are is at a point of growth,B次元官网网址 she explained, adding at that stage, the twins were hard to tell apart.

All three of them, she said, were creative.

They came up with their own company, called JAM, which stood for Jon, Andrew and mom, and they were always entrepreneurial.

When they left elementary school, the brothers went to Maple Ridge secondary before Thomas Haney secondary.

B次元官网网址淲hen they hit high school, they really became their own guys,B次元官网网址 said Fowell.

B次元官网网址淒rew was into basketball, he wanted to teach basketball in high school, and Jon became Jonathan Silver, the illusionist, and wore black and the bling,B次元官网网址 Fowell added.

But during that time they never forgot their favourite teacher.

When Fowell retired, they sent her a video congratulating her. She still has it on her phone, and she played it for the guests during the wedding reception.

B次元官网网址淏ecause they said they werenB次元官网网址檛 going to kiss with the glass banging, you had to talk about some embarrassing moment and so this was mine. It was a visual,B次元官网网址 she said.

It starts off with JD saying: B次元官网网址淵ou taught Jon, Drew and I so much over the years. Me, personally, you were the first teacher I ever connected with.

Then Jonathan pipes in with: B次元官网网址淔or me, you were an inspiration. You just taught me never to give up and always follow my dreamsB次元官网网址.

Suddenly, Drew steps into the frame, wearing a black wig, bright pink blush on his cheeks in a bikini top, skirt and headband, saying, B次元官网网址楢nd you were a real inspiration for me too Nina. An inspiration in ways words donB次元官网网址檛 describe.B次元官网网址

B次元官网网址淭he sound wasnB次元官网网址檛 great at the wedding when they showed it, but Jon said afterwards: B次元官网网址楴ow thereB次元官网网址檚 a picture that will be stuck in your mind forever.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址

Fowell took her friend Brenda Jenkins to the wedding as a guest. It took three flights to get there and three to get back.

The wedding celebration was a week of events, starting with bachelor and bachelorette parties, a welcoming dinner, the wedding and, finally, a MotherB次元官网网址檚 Day tea.

Fowell remembers the food.

B次元官网网址淔or every four people, they would bring you four of something,B次元官网网址 Fowell said of the karaoke-style bachelorette party.

B次元官网网址淎nd they would just keep coming and coming and coming.B次元官网网址

At the welcoming dinner, there were booths with meats, cheeses, salads and deserts.

Just before the meal, Drew and Linda thanked their 300 guests for coming. Drew specifically mentioned Fowell and his former basketball coach from Thomas Haney, Mike Shannon, who was also present, and Linda mentioned some of her high school friends.

B次元官网网址淚 thought, B次元官网网址極h my God, I got a mention,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址 said Fowell.

The wedding had a traditional menu, but Fowell says, it was extensive and you got served everything.

The MotherB次元官网网址檚 Day tea was an outdoor barbecue. The wedding took place in what appeared to be an 800-year-old building, although Fowell said she was surprised to learn it was only eight.

B次元官网网址淚t was beautiful and everybody cried, including Linda and Drew. Her dress was gorgeous,B次元官网网址 said Fowell.

LindaB次元官网网址檚 dress was designed by Claire Pettibone and was described in People as having a cathedral-length train with intricate, hand-beaded floral details on the bodice and sleeves and an open back draped in jewels.

Drew wore a Claymore Imports kilt made from Scott tartan in their familyB次元官网网址檚 signature pattern.

B次元官网网址淵ou have to be a Scott to wear a Scott tartan,B次元官网网址 Drew told People magazine.

The first dance started out as a waltz and morphed into a masterpiece choreographed by DrewB次元官网网址檚 Dancing With The Stars pro-partner Emma Slater and her husband, Sasha Farber.

The wedding cake will be featured on the June 25 episode of Cake Hunters on the Food Network. It featured vanilla with goat cheese and strawberry balsamic, organic red velvet, carrot and chocolate hazelnut with a butter-cream frosting.

Instead of gifts, the newlyweds asked guests to donate to WE Charity, formerly known as Free The Children, founded by Marc and Craig Kielburger, to provide people in need access to clean water and help build schools for communities in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Fowell, though, decided she still wanted to give them something personal that spoke more to their relationship.

B次元官网网址淢y in-laws homesteaded a farm in Brandon, Manitoba back in the late 1800s early 1900s. They actually walked out from Toronto with their oxen and everything,B次元官网网址 explained Fowell.

On their property, they had a one room schoolhouse for the children.

FowellB次元官网网址檚 gift was the bell that the teacher used to ring to call in the children.

B次元官网网址淲ell, I was their teacher and I thought that was appropriate,B次元官网网址 said Fowell.

B次元官网网址淭hey have a huge family and I thought it would make a great dinner bell.B次元官网网址

12319494_web1_180612-MRN-M-the-boys2
Retired elementary school teacher Nina Fowell with the Scott Brothers, from left, Jonathan, Drew and JD, at Drew ScottB次元官网网址檚 recent wedding to Linda Phan in Italy. (Contributed)
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(Contributed) Retired elementary school teacher Nina Fowell with the Scott Brothers, Jonathan, Drew and JD. They were at DrewB次元官网网址檚 recent wedding to Linda Phan in Italy.


Colleen Flanagan

About the Author: Colleen Flanagan

I got my start with Black Press Media in 2003 as a photojournalist.
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