A Biker Captured an Intimate Wedding On Her Phone, and the Internet Helped Her Find the Happy Couple
On Sunday, July 26, as Nevona Friedman and her boyfriend biked from Manhattan to Brooklyn, they hopped off their bikes to walk part of the bridge. It was a warm summer night, after all, and they'd been biking for a while, so they needed a break. Partway through the strolle, she she spotted a woman in white and a man in a suite, and did a double take. She'd seen a handful of outdoor weddings in New York City over the years, but never one that consisted only of the bridge, groom, and officiant. So she pulled over and snapped a few photos before continuing down the bridge.
That night, as a bit of a joke, Friedman tweeted a photo of the couple with the caption "if you were getting married on the Brooklyn Bridge this evening, i’ve got some photos for you!"
"I figured there's 8 million people, and all I have is a photo," Friedman tells Woman's Day. But the tweet, which currently has over 120,000 likes and almost 9,000 retweets, took off. And after one of the bride's friends recognized the bird tattoo on the woman's shoulder, the spontaneous photographer and the mystery bride were introduced.
if you were getting married on the brooklyn bridge this evening, i’ve got some photos for you! pic.twitter.com/c61eDmAIaM
— nevona (@nevona) July 27, 2020
"The story of how we [my now husband and I] met is even more romantic than our wedding on the Brooklyn Bridge," Nikolina Kovalenko, the bride, tells Woman's Day. Which is hard to believe after seeing the sunset photo, the perfect backless dress (it's For Love & Lemons, for those wondering), and the internet-age story of uniting the lovers with their stealthy wedding photographer — but it's true.
Kovalenko and her now-husband Stefan Ponova met a year ago while backpacking in South America. He was on the last leg of his trip; hers was just beginning. Their paths crossed while while salsa dancing in Colombia, and they just knew.
"I asked Stefan about when he knew," she says. "And he said pretty much from the first moment he saw me."
Ponova eventually had to fly back to his home in Russia, but met her in Patagonia, where they spent four months climbing mountains together. At the beginning of March they returned to her home in New York, and quarantine began soon after. They got engaged on June 26 and married exactly one month later on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Their Brooklyn Bridge wedding was a spontaneous affair, since they couldn't have friends and family gather due to social distancing. The intimate ceremony occurred after the two spent the day spent exploringManhattan neighborhoods on foot, only for the couple to end their afternoon at the Brooklyn Bridge.
"We thought about what would be symbolic for New York and what would be a beautiful scene in the backdrop, and we thought of the bridge," Kovalenko says. "We also crossed so many bridges when we were in Patagonia in the mountains, those very shaky bridges hanging over the precipice, and we thought maybe bridges are our thing."
Though the couple didn't expect their intimate wedding to be seen by so many, they are thankful for all of the positive messages they've read online. "When we saw all the reactions from other people and felt all the good energy we thought it was beautiful," Kovalenko says. And in the middle of a pandemic they're happy that their display of love in a trying time has been a symbol of hope and happiness for so many. "Maybe it helps them to restore their faith in love in some way, or maybe they like seeing that love prevails no matter what is happening around," she says.
Kovalenko and Ponova are hopeful that they'll be able to celebrate their wedding with friends and family when it's safe to do so. And after connecting with the bride, Friedman would love to meet the happy couple after the pandemic. "I'll come to the anniversary, "she laughs.
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