This past Valentine's Day was the day Louis and Charlotte had long been waiting for, the day they walked down the aisle at Vernon's Knox Presbyterian Church  and made their wedding vows, promising to provide one another with the finest cheese money can buy, to protect one another from life's many traps, and to keep their whiskers away from any potential adulterers (in particular a ratty fellow named Clarence) who may wish to break up their special bond. 

If you hadn't guessed, Louis and Charlotte aren't the kind of couple who typically get married at Knox Church. They're two mice figurines whose fictional story has had a very real impact on the church congregation, bringing the church members together in the isolating days of COVID and allowing them to share in some fun that's both spiritual and secular. 

Led by the church's minister, Rev. Dr. Teresa Charlton, the church certainly had a lot of fun with the Feb. 14 wedding. Charlton wasn't afraid to ham it up during the ceremony, which was a hilarious spectacle that included a video explaining how Louis and Charlotte met on cheddar.com, much to the dismay of Clarence, another mousy figurine who was vying for Charlotte's affection.

"We've had a lot of fun around here this week," Charlton said to a crowd of regular church-goers and people from outside the church who wanted to get in on the wedding shenanigans. 

"On behalf of Knox Presbyterian Church — we've all enjoyed this craziness together — we now pronounce Louis and Charlotte as husband and wife," Charlton said at the wedding's climactic moment after many laughs throughout the ceremony. 

Behind the silly mouse story is a real love story within the church community. Walking (or rather, carrying) Charlotte and Louis down the aisle were Linda and Howard Fisher. The couple, part of the Knox congregation, got married on Valentine's Day 55 years ago. 

"55 years ago when I married Linda, it was the best day of my life," said Howard, who served as Louis' best man. He added if someone had told him 55 years ago that he would one day be playing an honoured role in the wedding of two mice, he'd "ask them what they were smoking."

By happenstance another Knox couple, Bev and Ron Clear, were also married on Valentine's Day 55 years ago. 

The story of the mouse figurines began during COVID when the church couldn't gather to worship. A mouse figurine (Charlotte) was made by an elderly lady from an Ontario congregation and given to the church. In the years since, Knox church members took Charlotte with them whenever they went on holiday, taking pictures of Charlotte in faraway places. The church ended up publishing a few books about Charlotte.

It turned into a way to restore a sense of community post-COVID both within and outside the church congregation, which is an older congregation with seniors who are still wary after the pandemic and in some cases still isolated. 

"Underneath all of the silliness, what we're learning is it's a great way to build community," Charlton said at the wedding. "And most of the people here today are not part of our church."

Bea Smith was also honoured at the mouse wedding, where her 1959 wedding dress was displayed.