A month ago, my family and I traveled down to Lawrence, Kansas to watch my brother-in-law, Nick, marry the love of his life, Marcela. It was a long drive but we had a great trip, seeing family who live far away and having the girls play a part in another wedding. Marcela and Nick actually met in a foreign country (for both of them) while both practicing jiu jitsu. They started dating as well as practicing together in Switzerland, where they were both working at the time. Since then, they both came back to their home countries (Nick to the US and Marcela to Chile). The pandemic held off any plans to officially tie the knot last year but this year, it was finally possible.
Nick and Marcela aren't your typical couple in a lot of ways. Nick is blind, although he's never let that slow him down. He's lived in Spain, Japan, Ecuador, Switzerland, among other places. Marcela is a very driven and strong woman, and wonderfully sweet to boot. The two of them love to spend time together doing all sorts of things, having various adventures and keeping up with their love of martial arts. They decided to get married in their local dojo instead of doing a more traditional wedding. They said "I do" in their gis, recited their vows in both English and Spanish, and sealed the deal with a match! It was a lot of fun and a perfect fit to their personalities.
Originally, they didn't plan anything much but as the time that Marcela would be moving to Kansas with Nick (he currently attends KU in Lawrence where he is pursuing his doctorate), they picked out a few special things to do and made it happen. Marcela's family still live in Chile and were unable to make the trip due to the pandemic, but Nick and Marcela were able to broadcast the wedding online and of course I was there to capture both photo AND video for them! I've never done video before, but having rented a new camera (the model of which I have since purchased because I liked it so much!), I figured, why not? A friend of theirs also manned a GoPro to fill things in a bit for me as well. Perfect!
Though it's missing some of my favorite wedding things, this one was too awesome to not love! See all the fun below.
Flowers - Owens Flower Shop, Lawrence, Kansas
Dojo - Rivers Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Lawrence, Kansas
Reception - Fields & Ivy Brewery, Lawrence, Kansas
Rings - Celtic Jewelscapes, Arizona
Cake/Cupcakes - smallcakes, Lawrence, Kansas
Reception - Fields & Ivy Brewery, Lawrence, Kansas
Rings - Celtic Jewelscapes, Arizona
Cake/Cupcakes - smallcakes, Lawrence, Kansas
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| My kiddos in their gis ready to be ring bearers! |
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| Groom and bride! |
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| Kiss, and fight! |
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| Chatting with those who are far away! |
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| Nick's mom brought the braille keyboard and the guests wrote the couple notes with it! |
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| DELICIOUS! |
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| This will be in the Top 10 this year ;) |
