This weekend in my Close to Home column in the Beacon Journal, I’ll be sharing readers’ stories about cicadas. But one that arrived too late for publication is too good to pass up, so I’m sharing it here.
It came from photographer Amelia Zupke Oriti of Amelia Zupke Photography, who recently shot the wedding of Kelsey Gerbig and Jonathan Tietz at Cuyahoga National Park’s Happy Days Lodge. The cicadas were uninvited guests, but they weren’t unwelcome.
Here’s how Amelia tells it:
“The bride was actually very excited to have the cicadas ‘present’ for their special day. The cicadas were landing all over everyone, from the bridesmaids’ up-dos, flower bouquets, and even the suits of the groomsmen. In fact, one of her best friends (also a bridesmaid) is an entomologist, so she was also running around collecting the cicadas from everyone else’s dresses and suits so that she could examine the and then let them fly away safely. It was a very unique addition to the wedding day, and the cicadas will definitely play a part in the bride and groom’s memories of their special day!”
I just love that this bride and groom embraced the situation instead of getting flustered or upset.
In the Chinese culture, cicadas are considered harbingers of good luck. May that be true for this special couple.