1. Real Weddings

Kasia & Darek: A Beach Wedding in Tampa, FL

The story of Kasia and Darek reads a bit like a romantic novel: teenage friendship turns to romance, then boy moves to a different continent but love

The story of Kasia and Darek reads a bit like a romantic novel: teenage friendship turns to romance, then boy moves to a different continent but love endures, and the happy ending takes place at the altar of a marvelous church. But with only a month or two together at Christmas and in the summer, it wasn't quite that easy, of course, for the newly engaged couple to keep an intercontinental romance alive for almost three years. THE BRIDE Kasia Dolinska THE GROOM Darek Timoszuk THE DATE February 4 The couple met when they were both 18 years old, vacationing in the lake region of eastern Poland in a place called Mazury. They became friends and met several times, even attending Kasia's high school prom together. Then in 1993, Darek's family won a visa lottery and decided to move to the United States. But the two kept in touch by letter and the occasional phone call. After a year, Darek came back to visit Poland, and the two were surprised to find that it was often easier to talk about their feelings on paper than in person. Darek's next visit brought the two closer, and, says Kasia, It started to be more difficult to say 'goodbye' at the airport. On Valentine's Day in 1998, Darek, a testing technician in the semiconductor industry, proposed to Kasia according to Polish tradition -- by asking her in front of the families. Kasia, a violinist, decided to move to the U.S. in the summer of 2000, after she finished her studies at the Academy of Music in Poland. Although the two were engaged for about three years, they put their wedding together in only four months.

Although Kasia and Darek wished to have a Polish Orthodox ceremony, there is no Polish Orthodox church in the Tampa area. They did find a Russian Orthodox church, which is, says Kasia, almost the same. The nuptials began out in front of the church, where the priest directs the bride and groom to exchange their rings three times. Inside, male relatives held crowns over their heads for much of the ceremony. When the couple became husband and wife, they led the priest around the icon of Christ three times, bowing each time, to show their joy and appreciation. As Kasia and Darek left the church, they were showered with coins, which they collected from the ground, following the tradition to mark the way to luck and prosperity.
The Cake
The Bridesmaid Bouquets
The Couple
After Kasia and Darek opened the dance floor with their first dance to Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole's When I Fall in Love, the disc jockey spun tunes from the '80s and the '90s, mixed in with popular Polish music. From what we heard later, says Kasia, everyone had a great time.
The Traditions