15 June 2013, Orange, Connecticut
Camp Cedarcrest, by the Wepawaug River
Dima waiting patientlyGrandma Nina and Vladimir, father of the groom, waiting patientlyLarisa and Tim ~ photo by Susan Kwan6.15.13 ~ Orange, ConnecticutLarisa reading her vowsDima reading his vowsa kissmatron and maid of honor, Alyssa and AliciaLarisa & Dima…Tim & Barbaraour dear friends from Macedonia, Bojan and his sister AnaLarisaDimaLarisa made the dress with help from her friend, Brit; Janet and I went to New York City to help Larisa pick out the fabricSvetlana, mother of the groom6.15.13 ~ Orange, Connecticuttradition is that the person getting the bigger bite “controls” the marriage6.15.13 ~ Orange, Connecticutbest man, DaveTim, father of the brideVlad, father of the groom6.15.13 ~ Orange, Connecticut6.15.13 ~ Orange, Connecticut6.15.13 ~ Orange, ConnecticutAunt Delorma, who has been a mother to both Tim and me, and a very special grandaunt to Larisathe lights of my life, Nate, Larisa and Joncousins Erica, Larisa and Erincousins Nate, Jon, Larisa, David, Erica and ErinLarisa and meTim and LarisaNate and LarisaNate, Tim, Dima, Larisa, Barbara and JonLarisa and ElizaToby and LarisaDrew, Janet and Timmy favorite picture!
Shea helped me out with a lot of the picture-taking, and Svetlana made all the lovely decorations. Dima & Larisa created an amazing wedding and reception, in a perfect setting, and we could not have asked for better weather. A very special day for all of us to remember forever.
An interesting side note – all of the women in the bridal party and the mothers and grandmothers and grandaunt have names that end with an “a.” Larisa; her attendants, Alyssa, Alicia, Erica and Lisa; the mothers, Barbara and Svetlana; Dima’s grandmothers, Nina and Anna; and Larisa’s grandaunt, Delorma.
In August our daughter Larisa had the opportunity to travel to Norway with her cousin, Erin, to visit Erin’s friend, Johanna. Larisa gave me permission to post some of her pictures!! One of my passionate dreams, when circumstances allow, is to visit Norway, the land of some of our sea-faring ancestors. Although Johanna didn’t live by the sea, the mountains offered more than enough beauty and scenic vistas to satisfy my curiosity for now… Larisa brought me a treasure: one of the flowers she picked in the field (below).
Larisa – Norway.2010 – “The hills are alive…”Larisa, Erin, Johanna – Norway 2010 … Amazing how blue the water is!Norway 2010 …nature…
According to Wikipedia: “A stave church is a medieval wooden church with a post and beam construction related to timber framing. The wall frames are filled with vertical planks. The load-bearing posts (stafr in Old Norse, stav in Norwegian) have lent their name to the building technique.” There is a replica of one at the Norway Pavilion at EPCOT in Disney World, which I have visited four times.
One of Norway’s stave churches – 2010…Erin in the graveyard of a stave church…
Raised by a genealogist, Larisa knows that pictures of cemeteries are essential souvenirs to bring back from any country visited.
Show me your cemeteries, and I will tell you what kind of people you have.
~ Benjamin Franklin
Norway 2010 …feels like home…
The first time Larisa showed me the picture above, I got butterflies in my stomach because it seemed so very familiar. I saw that same reaction portrayed once in the movie The Motorcycle Diaries. When Ernesto “Ché” Guevara took in the spirit of the ruins of Machu Picchu, he wondered, “How is it possible to feel nostalgia for a world I never knew?” I knew exactly what he meant. It is the same feeling I also had when I walked into the stave church replica at EPCOT.
And of course it also made me think of Sigrid Undset and her books Kristin Lavransdatter and The Master of Hestviken. And the Kristin Lavransdatter movie directed by Liv Ullmann.
Thank you, Larisa! You have given your mother a most wonderful gift!
When Ernesto “Ché” Guevara took in the spirit of the ruins of Machu Picchu, he wondered, “How is it possible to feel nostalgia for a world I never knew?” I knew exactly what he meant. It is the same feeling I also had when I walked into the stave church replica at EPCOT.