A Christ-honoring Ukrainian Wedding

Last Saturday, a wedding was held at our church that has been anticipated for such a long time! Lena, the bride, grew up in our church, and Igor has been a part of the church since he was 14 years old, I believe.

Igor and Lena dated for more than 4 years, and most of that time, they were counseled not to date. Igor was unsaved and not interested in becoming a Christian. Lena came to a point in her life where she finally decided to follow God's will and not her heart. Eventually, Igor was saved, and the two of them make an outstanding couple today! Lena told me the day of her wedding, "It is so worth it to wait and do things according to God's will. This day could not be any more beautiful, and I know that everything is falling into place because we sought to do things right." Beautifully said.

Lena, the gorgeous bride Brianna (flower girl) and Anna (junior bridesmaid)
Guestbook and "Money mailbox" for the bride and groom

Homemade cakes (no cake mixes here, ladies!) that took Nelya, the maid of honor, hours to complete

The ring bearer, our darling 6-year-old Nate, who carried the actual rings! (We were not so brave... we gave our ringbearer plastic look-alikes)

The flower girl, our princess 3-year old, Brianna who, by the way, relished every single minute of this dress-up occasion

Nelya, the maid of honor

It took Brianna so long to make it down the aisle, as she painstakingly dropped the rose petals one at a time! (no easy task when you're wearing gloves!)

Igor and Lena exchanging wedding rings, after they were safely delivered by our little man (Whew! We were able to relax after this!)

Lena's parents, who are both deaf. Lena is our deaf interpreter, and simply the best around!

Walking out to the car

The grand, rented car

The darling new couple

The kids, still enjoying blowing bubbles long after the bride and groom had whisked away

Ukrainian weddings are an all-day event. The early morning started out with the official paper-signing downtown (and the bride and groom were already dressed for the day). The wedding was held at 12:00. Then, a wedding banquet that lasted 3 hours was scheduled for 4:00. While everyone prepared the church building for the banquet, the bride and groom drove around town to get their pictures at important statues and monuments in town, a Ukrainian custom that welcomes them into society.

At the wedding banquet, the children take turns quoting Christian love poetry to the bride and groom

Cutting the banquet wedding cake

Preparing to throw the bouquet

May God's richest blessings always be abundant in your lives, Igor and Lena, as you seek to serve Him together each day of your lives!