Fotos by Vicky Holguin-Efeunodos
On July the 21st, TEAM BRIDE had one of it most challenging wedding ever. The couple, NIck and Yara had decided on a wedding in Cartagena because Colombia had been Nick’s birth place. Nick was adopted and brought to the states as a baby, and after a long journey in finding his roots, he was reunited with his Colombian mother and siblings.
The wedding was a challenge because the couple had booked a Roman Catholic Church with the belief that Yara was Roman Catholic. Yara had been baptized and confirmed in the Melkite Catholic faith which is a branch of the Greek Orthodox church with strong catholic ties. Two weeks prior to the weeding we received word form the Church in Cartagena that they could not get married within the Roman Catholic faith because neither of them had ever been baptized as Roman Catholic, and they had received marriage preparation through the Melkite Catholic Church and not the Roman Catholic church. This is where the challenged began, because the couple was set to have their wedding in the beautiful church of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, a Roman Catholic Church! As their wedding planners we set out to solve the situation and make sure to fulfill their wedding dream. First we needed to contact the Greek Orthodox church in Colombia. There is only a hand full of Greek orthodox churches in Colombia, but we were able to contact Father Crisostomo, form Pereira Colombia. He agreed to preform the wedding in Cartagena, so long as the groom was willing to be baptized in the Greek Orthodox faith. For Nick this was not a problem, because through his love for Yara he had learned to embrace the faith, and for her he was willing to do anything!
Then their was the issue of obtaining permission from the Archdiocese of Cartagena to preform a Greek Orthodox wedding in a Roman Catholic Church. Not an easy task, but since the Roman Catholic Church had its begging through the Greek Orthodox faith, Father Crisostomo was able to obtain a special permission from the Archbishop of Cartagena. Father Crisostomo arrived 3 days prior to the wedding in Cartagena to preparer Nick for Baptism and a Wedding.
As a result, we at TEAM BRIDE were witness to the most beautiful and emotional wedding preparation ever. It was a true testament of love and the power of love.
The wedding reception took place in Casa Quero, a walking distance from the church and within the old city’s walls. The bride and groom wanted their wedding to reflect their fun and laid back personality’s. As with all wedding their is an inspiration piece that sets the tone for the colors, decor and details. For this wedding it was these miniature chalk board cloth pins that we suggested to the couple as name placements to be attached to the wine glasses. From there, we integrated chalk board elements in a tasteful way. As centerpieces we imported a variety of blue bottle vases from the US(none of these things are available in Cartagena) and used the local ginger flower to create a rhapsody of color an design that would compliment the venue and reflect the couples personality. Nick’s biological mother hand made blue boxes for the traditional “Chivas” as party favors.
After so many weddings, we at TEAM BRIDE know that each wedding leave a special mark in our lives. For both Nazly and me the unique challenge of this wedding reaffirmed us that we are up for any challenge and have the ability to solve anything!
This wedding was special for Katie and I. Yes, flying into the small village of Haslington in the English countryside to take pictures was surreal.