{"id":170260,"date":"2018-07-10T21:24:57","date_gmt":"2018-07-11T01:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=170260"},"modified":"2018-07-10T21:24:57","modified_gmt":"2018-07-11T01:24:57","slug":"stratford-mayor-encourages-justin-bieber-to-hold-wedding-in-his-hometown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/07\/10\/stratford-mayor-encourages-justin-bieber-to-hold-wedding-in-his-hometown\/","title":{"rendered":"Stratford mayor encourages Justin Bieber to hold wedding in his hometown"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The 24-year-old singer confirmed his engagement to the American model in an Instagram post on Monday, sparking instant speculation about where they might hold the event. (Photo<\/a>: Justin Bieber\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TORONTO — Justin Bieber’s hometown of Stratford, Ont., is prepared to host the pop star’s wedding — should he decide to hold it there.<\/p>\n

Dan Mathieson, mayor of the southwestern Ontario city, said Tuesday he hopes Bieber includes the picturesque region in the nuptial conversations with his new fiancee Hailey Baldwin.<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old singer confirmed his engagement to the American model in an Instagram post on Monday, sparking instant speculation about where they might hold the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would be happy to host that and do whatever we had to do to make it a special day,\u201d Mathieson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn due time, I think everyone in Stratford will be reaching out asking them to come. We will make a formal offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Stratford doesn’t have the glitz and glamour of a city like Los Angeles or a tropical locale, the mayor said it’s not unthinkable the couple might consider Stratford for their big day.<\/p>\n

The city of around 31,000 people has a number of characteristics that could prove enticing for the famous singer and his fiancee: it’s quaint, far away from the usual hotbeds of paparazzi and a place where Bieber still has his roots.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe plays soccer with his high school friends, he plays pickup hockey on Saturday nights,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe flies in on a private plane and is treated like every other citizen — with respect. People have come to accept that Justin is part of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stratford keeps Bieber close too, even when he’s away.<\/p>\n

A few years ago the tourism office created a walking tour devoted to landmarks from Bieber’s past, including an ice cream shop he frequently visited and the steps outside the Avon Theatre where he performed as a young busker.<\/p>\n

The city, home to annual repertory theatre Stratford Festival, has also hosted an array of famous people, ranging from prime ministers to royalty, presidents and stars, Mathieson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re not backwater,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

John Kastner, general manager of the Stratford Perth Museum, also offered his support to the family.<\/p>\n

When rumours began swirling about the singer’s engagement over the weekend, Kastner says he texted Bieber’s grandparents, Diane and Bruce Dale, to suggest a potential venue for the wedding or any related events.<\/p>\n

The museum, which opened an exhibit dedicated to Bieber in February, hosted five weddings last year.<\/p>\n

His grandparents responded thanking Kastner, he says, but said they weren’t aware of their grandson’s wedding plans.<\/p>\n

Kastner says there won’t be any hard feelings if the couple chooses elsewhere for their wedding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want him to be happy,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd he certainly seems happy with this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TORONTO — Justin Bieber’s hometown of Stratford, Ont., is prepared to host the pop star’s wedding — should he decide …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":161981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[53030,53029,582,1112,53028],"class_list":["post-170260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","tag-dan-mathieson","tag-john-kastner","tag-justin-bieber","tag-ontario","tag-stratford","mauthors-david-friend","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}