Twenty years ago, Canadians, longing to be parents, reached across the ocean to China to start their families.  An Ottawa-based agency, the Children's Bridge, helped bring those babies home.

The Bridge is celebrating an anniversary this month and one of the original adoptees is celebrating her wedding this week.   With the wedding just two days away, 22-year-old Jasmine Bent is surprisingly calm.

“I don't feel like it's truly hit us,” she says, as she works on name cards for the tables.

Her mother, on the other hand, is feeling a rush of emotions.

"It feels like yesterday we got off the plane with her,” says Jennifer Dawson-Bent, as she wells up with tears.

Jasmine was just a baby when Jennifer and Roy Bent travelled to China to adopt her.  Her sisters Alanna and Michelle followed after that. 

"Life would be different of course,” muses Jasmine about life back in China, “and I’m lucky and happy to be in Canada and to live the life I have.”

For 20 years, the Children's Bridge has been bringing families together; forty-five hundred children now and counting.  The vast majority were from China at the beginning, but the program has expanded beyond that now, as international adoption rules have changed.

“The challenge is that the regulations are more stringent,” explains Cathy Murphy, the Director of Adoption Services for the Children’s Bridge, “The Hague regulations have meant that many of the children are older and have special medical needs as well.”

The Bridge now has 13 adoption licenses that include China, China Waiting Children, South Korea, Thailand, Jamaica, Vietnam, Twanda, India, Florida, Zambia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Children Living with HIV and a domestic license as well.

“China has slowed down incredibly so the wait for mainstream China is 8 years so we haven't accepted files for that program since 2008,” says Murphy.

2-year-old Violet came from China, through the Waiting Children Program, for children with minor correctable medical conditions.  She's been here only four short months but has clearly made a lasting, loving impression on mom and dad.

"It's hard to imagine, even though it's been a short time, how different our life has become,” says Violet’s father David Vandermeer, “Everything revolves around her now.”

Kim Vandermeer says she spoke with so many adoptive parents who echo her thoughts, “We tried so many other things before trying adoption so I just wish we would have just done adoption because we would have saved alot of heartache because it's such a wonderful program.  The kids are great, cute and smart and joyful and we can't imagine anything better.”

The Children's Bridge will celebrate 20 years of bringing families together at a party next weekend in Ottawa. 

Jasmine Bent will still be on her honeymoon, probably not thinking about the Bridge celebration or about international adoption; at least not yet. 

“Adoption is just a different way of creating a family, just as great as any other but hopefully not for a couple of years,” she laughs.