Johnny Gaudreau’s sister reveals ‘anxiety’ after getting married

Katie Gaudreau, the sister of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, married Devin Joyce on Friday, 11 months after their wedding was originally canceled following the death of her two brothers, who were struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver while biking the night before the ceremony.

In an interview with People, Katie Gaudreau opened up about the “anxiety” she dealt with while planning the wedding, changing the venue from its original location because “two essential pieces of our day” — the Gaudreau brothers were going to be Joyce’s groomsmen — wouldn’t be there and settling on a place that’d allow people to stay overnight.

“I wanted a space where we could all be together the night before — somewhere we could sleep over, wake up together, and just be, without having to leave or be separated,” Gaudreau told the outlet. “I was having a lot of anxiety about everyone leaving the venue after the reception and something happening, so I wanted a space where we would all be together.”

Last August, Johnny — a Blue Jackets star before his death — and Matthew Gaudreau were struck by Sean Higgins in Oldmans Township, N.J., with Higgins admitting to a trooper at the scene that he had “five to six beers” prior to the crash.

Since then, tributes have poured in from around the hockey community, such as with the NHL honoring Johnny Gaudreau during the Stadium Series game — hosted by Columbus — last season and Team USA giving him a locker in the team’s dressing room during the 4 Nations Face-Off.

And Katie Gaudreau wed her childhood sweetheart Friday with a 200-person ceremony at St. Mary’s Church in Gloucester City, N.J., followed by the reception at The Bellevue Hotel.

“It’s hard to put into words how much has shifted and how much I’ve carried in my heart since last August,” Gaudreau told People. “Back then, we were preparing with so much love and excitement. I remember the way John and Matty lit up — how genuinely happy they were to celebrate Devin and me. Their joy was radiant, effortless and contagious.”

Gaudreau told the outlet that her brothers were honored in small ways throughout the ceremony, including with her father Guy Gaudreau and Joyce donning custom suits with pictures of the brothers lining the inside.

Her bouquet also featured 21 standard roses and 13 spray rose blooms in a nod to the numbers that Matthew and Johnny wore, respectively, while playing hockey.

“Their love didn’t leave,” she said, acknowledging that she felt and honored “both the sorrow of their absence and the beauty of their presence” at her wedding.