This painting of Slovenija, in the Balkans was commissioned by a bride-to-be for her fiance who was born there and had immigrated to Canada with his parents as a child. She supplied me with a photo which I used as reference for this painting of Bled Lake with the Alps in the background where many fantastic ski resorts offer amazing skiing. Slovenija is a nation state situated in Central Europe at the crossroad of main European cultural and trade routes. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Croatia to the south and southeast and Hungary to the northeast.

Picturesque Lake Bled (Slovene: Blejsko jezero; German: Bleder See, Veldeser See) is a romantic glacial lake in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenija near the town of Bled surrounded by mountains and forests. Bled Island (Sln. Blejski otok) is the only natural island in Slovenija. The island has several buildings, the main one being the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary (Slovenian: Cerkev Marijinega vnebovzetja), built in the 15th century, where weddings are held regularly. The church has a 52 m (171 ft) tower and there is a stairway with 99 steps leading up to the building. Traditionally it is considered good luck for the groom to carry his bride up the 99 steps on the day of their wedding before ringing the bell and making a wish inside the church.