Couple recalls blackout wedding on 10-year anniversary
Posted August 14, 2013 7:40 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A lot of us bemoaned spoiled milk and melted ice cream when the great blackout of 2003 hit ten years ago today, but one couple had a lot more on the line than most.
Just two hours before Mark and Rachel Zelunka were set to marry at a Thornhill synagogue, the lights went out across a huge swath of Ontario and parts of the U.S.
Their wedding day could have been ruined, but instead it was brightened by loved ones, and even strangers, who rallied to assure the reception was a fun, love-filled affair.
“They brought bags and bags of candles, people were bringing flashlights,” Rachel recalled.
But what about food?
Fortunately, the hall was equipped with numerous barbeques that were utilized to grill chicken and beef.
Singing and dancing ensued, with some guests waving flashlights, and “suddenly it became this amazing wedding,” Mark said with a smile.
And as Mark explained in an online account of the blackout wedding, many life lessons were learned.
“Life is not about the flowers or how the chairs are covered,” he wrote.
“It’s not about how much money we spend or what we wear. Life is defined by the values that direct our actions. It was the selfless and loving spirit of our wedding that we will remember forever.”
