Walt Disney World
01/31/2014
BRIDE: Tatiana Goncharova
I was born on the opposite part of the world – in Moscow, Russia. Being a kid I traveled a lot with my parents and subsequently on my own. Before I went to school, we lived for a while in London and Singapore. Ever since, these are my favorite travel destinations. I finished high school in Moscow and met there my best friends. You will see Julia and Valeria among my bridesmaids. I am honored that my friends from school will join me on my special day. Right after school I went to college, the one I dreamed to attend since pre-school. That was the first my biggest “dream came true”. I met lots of new people, among them three girls which are very dear to me: Natalya, Sasha and Ira. I am also happy to see them celebrating my wedding day with me. Sasha and I have a lot of history travelling together to UK and initially we planned to study there for our Masters’. However, after college we all went to different directions. Natalya finished graduate school in Moscow and now lives and works in California; Irina is doing her Phd in Netherlands and Sasha after completing few degrees is currently in search for career opportunity in Canada. I am glad, that distance did not drive us apart and we still stay in touch. I finished up in Boston – the city with so many different people and cultures. It was like a whole world came to live in one place. My graduate program was short but probably the most memorable. With my maid of honor, Prerna, we were the only two graduates who stayed after our program to look for job, when others already lost hope. I was lucky enough to get an offer from American Express, and Prerna is now a CEO of her own successful business in India. I only hope that her busy work schedule will permit her to join me in Florida.
Now I live in Phoenix, and even so I am not ready to call it home; it is one of the most significant places in the world – the place where I met my future Husband.
On our wedding I only wish to see all my family, however, the distance does not make it possible. However, my mother, my dad and my dearest brother will be by my side and I can’t ask for anything else.
GROOM: Thomas Garthwait
I was born November 11, 1972 to my beloved parents, James and Joyce Garthwait.
The first ten years of my life, I lived in Hanover Park, IL, a Northwest suburb of Chicago. We lived in a new single family home and lived a suburban lifestyle amongst neighbors we all knew very well. My brother, James Garthwait and I were very active with all the other kids in our neighborhood, often playing football, soccer, baseball and golf, just to name a few activities. My brother and I enjoyed playing soccer in organized leagues and with each other most of all.
At the age of ten, we relocated to the city of Chicago to begin a new life in the city. This was a difficult transition for us to make after living in a suburban community but wouldn’t trade the experiences and friendships gained from this move. I completed the remaining years of grade school and high school in Chicago. Obtained my first paying job at Dominick’s Finer Foods, a Chicago land grocery store where I was employed for 11 years. I would work at the grocery store during my breaks from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where I attended college.
Years later, roughly at the age of 24, I relocated back to the same city where I grew up, Hanover Park. This time, I moved there on my own. I lived with my best friend and his mom ironically on the same block where I grew up. I obtained a job transfer to the grocery store near our home and met many new friends and I’m proud to say two which will stand beside me on my wedding day.
Present day today, after living in two other addresses’ in IL and two prior addresses’ in AZ, I’m now living in Scottsdale, AZ. I’m currently working for a Benefits Consulting Firm, this being my third and only job, second job since the grocery store and enjoying working from home virtually. I was fortunate enough to meet Tatiana at our previous apartment complex and know my mom and dad would adore her.