Chelsea & Vladik
Anniversary Session at Bok Towers
Lake Wales, Florida
.
In the latest edition of the Wedding Hurricane Files, we meet Chelsea and Vladik, yet another lovely couple whose wedding was subjected to the whims of mother nature. Chelsea and Vlad met while she was teaching English in Belarus. Although they tried not to, these two couldn’t help but fall in deeply in love. After two years of long-distance romance, Vlad proposed. Last year, just days before they said I Do at Epping Forest Yacht and Country Club in Jacksonville, Hurricane Irma flooded central Florida. Left without a wedding venue or electricity, Chelsea and Vlad put their plans on hold. Indefinitely. The year leading up to their wedding was a constant barrage of wedding disasters. And that disappointing theme continued in the year following with every attempt to reschedule. Eventually, they eloped in a quiet ceremony at the Inn on the Lakes in Sebring, Florida. Only a handful of Chelsea’s family could be in attendance since not a single member from Vladik’s family could obtain a travel visa to be there.
After all that, you’d think Chelsea and Vlad would be completely over it. Or at the very least angry about the seemingly insurmountable odds stacking up against them. But they weren’t. Instead, they were a joy to be with. Their kind-hearted souls calmed the chaos by focusing on their gratitude. They let go of the disappointments and reveled in the small victories. Like the third rescheduling of their anniversary shoot at Bok Towers when a last-minute check of the weather forecasted a torrential rainstorm. Thank goodness, because it was a doozy. Instead of avoiding pelting rain and lightning, we spent a wonderful day celebrating their un-wedding by recreating what they missed out on. Without the pressures of a wedding day, they explored the excitement of getting ready, a first look, cutting the cake, exchanging love letters, taking family portraits, and creating art their future children will one day inherit. It was a beautiful celebration and we got to eat cake twice in one day. Chelsa and Vlad recognize their marriage is not the sum of any one day. And it’s obvious to me, that no matter what life throws at them, they can handle it together. Because even though the wedding wasn’t meant to be, they most definitely are.
