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Erik Karlsson and I had something in common Saturday.

Neither one of us wanted me at his wedding.

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Actually, the Senators captain was insistent on no media coverage whatsoever when he officially removed himself from the free agent market and tied the knot with Ottawa’s Melinda Currey in the downtown core of the nation’s capital. I understood and respected that.

I understood, too, that a whole lot of Ottawans see Karlsson as local sports royalty. Plus, I like to do what I’m told to do by my bosses. So I headed back to town from my spot on a lake near Brockville and hooked up with my plus one, photographer James Park, for the assignment I’d been given.

I’m definitely more the Vince Vaughn type, so it was decided he’d be Owen Wilson, and off we went to — gently — crash the party.

Erik and Melinda were married at The Westin in an afternoon ceremony guarded by security, so I only caught glimpses of them as they left the hotel around 4:45 p.m. under a heavy rain. They took a limo to the reception at the National Gallery of Canada, where my partner had set up camp. I followed on foot, getting drenched in the process, and upon arrival learned that the newlyweds had slipped in to the building via secret entrance. Respectfully, we asked to speak with the wedding planner, to see if the bride and groom might pop back out for a quick photo and an expression of their bliss.