Hurricane Irene Unable to Crash Wedding of Bride and Groom in Foxborough

Hurricane Irene could not dampen the spirits of Alec Elbert and Veronika Bastanova’s wedding day, held as planned Sunday at Lakeview Pavilion in Foxboro.  Irene was not invited, however she appeared anyway.  She roared into Foxboro with 60 mph winds and heavy rains taking down power lines and leaving Foxboro in virtual darkness.  The lights were on however, at Lakeview Pavilion where approximately 125 guests gathered to celebrate their wedding.

This handsome and determined young couple born in Russia immigrated to the USA  (Alec when he was a year old, and Veronika when she was fifteen,) and met at their orientation freshman year at Babson College while pursuing their undergraduate degrees in Business.  Although they didn’t date for 1.5 years after meeting, this 32 year old couple knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together after dating for a few months. 

Lake View wedding consultant Terry Memmo assured the couple that the wedding would go on with the aid of generators.  Ususally in cases such as this, organizers make the final call on whether to go forward with an event two hours before the ceremony.  Fortunately for Elbert and Bastanova, aside from worrying about falling power lines and trees, the wedding went off without a hitch. 

For Elbert and Bastanova - who both live and work in Boston having to give up the dream of an outdoor wedding has been the hardest part of the experience.  As any bride knows, planning a wedding down to the smallest detail can unnerve even the most serene bride. 

Patch spoke to the groom just prior to the ceremony. 

"For Veronika [it was tough] looking outside over the past few days and seeing gorgeous weather while we knew what was potentially waiting for us on Sunday," Elbert said. "[Saturday] night was a tough night for Veronika because she realized her dream day was turning into a hurricane. I think it's tougher on her, but she's remained calm and upbeat.”

Little did they know that luck would be on their side.  When they first started planning their wedding, they considered a few other informal outdoor sites that could not possibly have weathered the storm. Lake View Pavilion has a fully enclosed function room, an emergency generator and plenty of ice to keep food and cocktails cold.

I asked if postponing the wedding was ever an option, but with 125 guests expected and many of them travelling long distances, including the bride's family from Russia, and the groom’s cousin, Lelia Elbert and her friend Barbara from Argentina, Elbert said canceling was not an option.  Of course, the two adorable flower girls, Lilly and Rachel Gambert, six and ten years old, would have been very disappointed.  They patiently waited for the bride to appear, all the while, looking beautiful in their silk dresses.

There is a silver lining to this story however - the couple leaves tomorrow for a honeymoon in Hawaii…let’s hope there’s plenty of sunshine on the horizon.