In the early hours of April 26, 1986, Iryna Stetsenko and Serhiy Lobanov prepared for their wedding in Pripyat, unaware that the world's worst nuclear accident was occurring less than three miles away. A rumble disturbed their sleep, dismissed as planes or a mild earthquake.
As the sun rose on Serhiy's wedding day, he noticed soldiers in gas masks and men washing streets. Colleagues from the Chernobyl plant urgently reported 'something happened.' Smoke billowed from reactor four, the site of the explosion that would spew radioactive material across Europe.
Despite growing unease and reports of dangerously high radiation, Soviet authorities maintained that all planned events, including weddings, should proceed. Information was tightly controlled, with no mention of the disaster on radio or television.
The wedding ceremony at the Palace of Culture proceeded, but the banquet felt somber. "Everyone understood that something had happened, but no one knew the details," Serhiy recalled. Their first dance, a practiced waltz, faltered as the reality of the unfolding tragedy sunk in, leading to an embrace rather than a dance.
In the early hours of Sunday, the couple and guests were rushed to an evacuation train. Iryna, in her wedding dress, ran barefoot through puddles to retrieve essentials. From the train, they saw the glow of the collapsed reactor, described as "looking into the eye of a volcano."
What was announced as a temporary evacuation became permanent. The couple, like thousands of others, left their lives behind. Iryna later discovered she was pregnant, facing difficult decisions amidst fears of radiation exposure affecting unborn babies. Their daughter, Katya, was born healthy later that year.
Forty years later, Iryna and Serhiy live in Berlin, having relocated again to escape conflict. They believe the accident affected their health, though it remains unconfirmed. Their marriage, forged in crisis, endures as a source of strength, a testament to their deep bond: "We really can't be one without the other."