Childhood sweethearts’ war zone wedding with fears they could be separated

They originally planned a lavish wedding with a honeymoon in the Maldives, but with no time to lose, Oksana and Mekola tied the knot in a war zone.

When asked about her wedding day, unlike other brides Oksana Savchuk doesn’t describe her dress, the church or the service.

“It was the ninth day of war,” she says flatly, without a hint of irony or humour.

The 24-year-old married her childhood sweetheart Mekola Maivski last Friday with advancing Russian troops prompting a dash to the alter amid fears they are to be separated by war, with him on the front and her evacuated to a foreign country.

Oksana Savchuk and Mekola Maivski got married in Lviv this week. Picture: Supplied

They were not quite engaged but had discussed their future together, including a lavish wedding and a honeymoon in the Maldives but decided there was now no time to lose.

“I rang my mother and asked her opinion of our plans and she started to cry, it was not supposed to be like this and she knew she couldn’t be there, she doesn’t live too close and there was no opportunity,” the university political science masters graduate said.

“We have not seen our families since Christmas but I know they realise the situation now is different. We have been together, Mekola and me, for a long time so we decided to do it.”

She rang her uncle Catholic priest Father Bogdan and he said he had a free two hours if they could do it now. She jumped on Facebook and found a veil and a dress while Mekola, 24, had a traditional Ukrainian shirt.

It was a long way from the lavish wedding and honeymoon they’d hoped for. Picture: Supplied

There were no guests at the Lviv Catholic Cathedral, with just her sister as bridesmaid and her brother as best man and witness.

“We just had to do it in case something happens, it is not the situation we liked but we did not know if there would be another opportunity,” she said.

“We didn’t even have rings and with the war all the jewellery shops are now closed so we couldn’t buy anything and so we made rings out of wax, like in candle. We did find a photographer though so we had nice photos made.”

In Lviv many of the finer restaurants were closed so their celebration meal was a simple affair.

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The pair signed their marriage certificate a fortnight after Russian tanks entered Ukraine. Picture: Supplied

“We went to a kids’ cafe and had pizza and cola, that was it,” Mekola said with a laugh. “It was a child’s place where they get excited to go, so we thought (it was) exciting as well.”

The pair met in a village and were firm friends by age 16 but went their separate ways for the final years of high school before reuniting randomly at university, he studying engineering and she political sciences.

“We had both changed a lot but realised … well you know, we began a relationship, found an apartment and now well here we are married,” Oksana said.

“We dream of things and maybe one day we will do these things but for now we have this war and who knows what will happen. Who knows.”

Originally published as Childhood sweethearts’ war zone wedding with fears they could be separated