Kulak: The wedding will have to wait

MONTREAL - The COVID-19 pandemic has put Brett Kulak's upcoming wedding on hold.

Kulak and his fiancée Caitlyn Chapman were supposed to exchange vows on July 4th in her hometown of Olds, AB - located 90 km north of Calgary - but they agreed a couple of weeks ago to postpone the celebration until July 2nd, 2021.
Three hundred guests were invited to watch the 26-year-old Canadiens defenseman and the Alberta-based optometrist officially become husband and wife.
Gatherings of that size aren't safe, and neither is travel for out-of-towners, so the decision was made to wait an additional 12 months.
Talk about a tough pill to swallow for the Edmonton native and his better half, but they're taking things in stride knowing they certainly aren't the only couple who've seen their wedding plans dashed by the current public health crisis.
"It was kind of a brutal feeling. It's been about a year since we got engaged, so it's already been a long wait. It was tough for a couple of days to kind of wrap our minds around it," admitted Kulak, who is spending the NHL pause with Chapman in Canmore, AB where she works at a local eye care clinic. "We know it's going to be a little longer, but we're feeling pretty good. It was a little bit stressful because it's not easy to plan a full wedding. Now, it's like we're planning two."

Photo Credit: Mark Willis Photography
At one point, Kulak and Chapman contemplated scaling down the festivities in order to keep their original date and push forward with a ceremony.
For a number of reasons, however, that wasn't the path they pursued.
"We felt we'd be missing out on a lot of things. She wanted to have a bachelorette party, have that special weekend with the girls. There are just so many things that come with getting married that we'd be giving up if we had a tiny celebration," said Kulak. "And we had family coming from different provinces, too, and we wanted to celebrate with them. It was a lot to manage and handle. But this just gives us another year to mature and grow up and have our life set up that much more."
Since saying "I do" is still a ways away, Kulak and Chapman are focused squarely on enjoying as much quality time together as possible.
She lives in the province year-round because of work, so they've been doing the long-distance thing during the NHL season.
"We've made the most of it, even if it hasn't been the warmest weather and you can't do crazy amounts outside. We've just soaked up every minute together," mentioned Kulak, who first met Chapman through her cousin, Kayleigh, the wife of his former Calgary Flames teammate, Micheal Ferland. "It's nice when you wake up and start making breakfast, just being in each other's company. She likes to train with me, too. We have a little hill near our place. It's your best friend, so it's a good feeling just being around each other."

Photo Credit: Mark Willis Photography
Chapman visits Kulak in Montreal every month, though, when he's patrolling the blueline.
He can't say enough about her incredible support in the two-and-half years they've been a couple.
"She's a trooper because it's not like it's a quick little flight from Calgary to Montreal. And she doesn't like flying that much to begin with. But she loves what I do and she wants to see me chase my dreams. It helps that anytime I pick up the phone, she's never down. She's a really good support system like that," praised Kulak. "She also worked hard to get where she's at. Eventually being husband and wife, it'll be a couple of years of being apart like that, so it'll be tough. But it definitely makes us appreciate the time we get together."
Going back to school
According to Kulak, Chapman played an integral part in encouraging him to follow his academic aspirations as well.
The former fourth-round selection recently enrolled in Athabasca University to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Science.
He's looking forward to his first-ever college experience, which gets underway with online classes on June 1st.
"I could take on as much or as little as a workload as I want, but I'm just starting with one course. I think I'll work away at that, try to get my learning juices flowing again, and go from there," said Kulak. "The degree can be achieved in as quickly as four years, but I'm just going to chip away at it and enjoy my experience. I just ordered a new laptop. I got my student ID number and my student e-mail account with the school. It's kind of fun. I'm excited."

Why choose that course of study?
"I have a big interest in the human body and health. I enjoy my workouts. I thought it wouldn't hurt to pursue a little bit of an education to learn a little bit more about that," explained Kulak. "They've just got a really good online program, and it's really user-friendly. It'll be perfect for me with hockey. I'll be able to work at my own pace, kind of dive deeper, and it'll probably help me as a hockey player as well, just learning more about myself, how to train better, and things I can do differently to become a better player."
Sounds like a pretty darn good plan to us.