Real-life weddings on Amelia Island
The Ritz-Carlton, AMelia Island
A
man walks into a convenience store and meets the woman with whom he is destined
to spend the rest of his life. It sounds like something out of a screenplay, but
it is the true love story of John Toma and Olga Hushcha. Almost everyday, John
would stop at the store, only two blocks from his house, on his way to work. Almost
everyday, he and Olga would exchange brief pleasantries over the cash register.“After about three months of sixty second conversations, I finally got up the nerve to ask her out. I said: ‘Let’s put all of our sixty-second conversations together and go out to dinner for an hour,” remembers John.
Olga asked John for his phone number, but he wasn’t taking any chances, and he requested her number as well. He pulled a brown paper bag off the store counter and ripped it in half. He gave her one half and kept the other. They both wrote their numbers down on the scraps and then switched halves at the same time.
“There was a line of five people behind me at this point.” Remembers John. Thank God she said yes! I walked out to my car and the guy who was standing behind me in line walked out to the parking lot and gave me a thumbs up.”
The couple dated for a few months, and things naturally progressed. A little over a year after that first fateful encounter with a stranger, they were engaged. One evening out, about a year later, the two sat down to dinner in restaurant in Ponte Vedra and an elderly couple passed by their table. As they passed by, the man stopped and back peddled a few steps. He turned to John and said, ‘She’s a very pretty girl. You’d better be smart about it.’ And then he walked off. Later that evening, John could not get the experience out of his head. He had been considering asking Olga for her hand in marriage for months, and he took this advice as a sign from above that he needed to do something about it. The next day he asked Olga for her hand in marriage.
The couple had frequented The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island many times and often dined at the well-known fine dining restaurant, Salt. They were thrilled to learn that Salt was available for wedding receptions, and they booked it immediately.
“This
wedding was the epitome of a destination wedding,” says Anastasia Stone,
Manager of Meetings and Special Events at The Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island. The
bride’s parents live in Belarus, and it was not easy for them to get the
paperwork to travel to the United States. Luckily, it all went smoothly, and they
were able to attend the wedding.The day before the wedding, the bride and groom drove to the resort from Jacksonville with their parents and greeted guests throughout the day as they arrived. Guests flew in from all corners of the country to celebrate the union of John and Olga. That evening, the guests took a shuttle to the rehearsal dinner, which was held at Thyme, a wonderful local restaurant. There, the guests dined on a three course meal and took turns “toasting and roasting” the couple.
The following morning, the bride and her six bridesmaids awakened early and began with hair and makeup appointments at The Spa at The Ritz-Carlton. After getting her hair done, Olga went back to her room and was joined by John’s Japanese mother and aunt. The two women, skilled in the art of wearing the kimono, began the elaborate ritual of dressing Olga in the same kimono John’s mother had been wrapped in 45 years earlier on her own wedding day.
“The process of putting the kimono on was very special. As John’s mom wrapped me in the kimono, I wondered what she was thinking. It was very special for both of us,” Olga remembers.
The wedding was at 4 p.m., and, after the bride was dressed, there was a little time to spare before the service. At photographer Leah Powell’s suggestion, the bridal party gathered in the Amelia Room for a champagne toast and took photos before the wedding to get the best light. It was a cool, fresh Saturday in November, and the couple was wed in the courtyard of The Ritz-Carlton, looking out on a beautiful seascape.
“As Olga and I walked back to hotel from the courtyard, I looked up and saw everyone in the hotel with their noses pressed against their windows, watching us and clapping. Someone from the top level yelled down congratulations!” laughs John.
Since the formal photos had already been taken, the party began right away. The bride and groom met with their guests in the bar area of Salt for cocktails, before being seated for a sumptuous six-course meal with wine pairing that featured both Japanese and Russian influenced cuisine, a concept Chef Richard Gras worked on personally with the couple. The restaurant was completely transformed with red up-lighting, orchids, and contemporary Japanese décor highlighting rich reds and shades of peach. The colors were inspired by the bride’s kimono, as was the wedding cake. Between the third and fourth course, guitarist Michael Munn played Jack Johnson’s “Better Together” as the bride and groom drifted across the dance floor.
“It was just such a great experience. We owe that to The Ritz-Carlton and their staff. It was just perfect,” says John.
