Let me tell you about an elopement morning. The sun hasn't risen yet, the air is cool. Cappadocia is in twilight; moonlight barely illuminates the valley. In front of me are two people: Chelsea and Colin. Trembling with excitement and a bit from the cold, they're watching the hot air balloons being prepared.
A couple who came from America to Cappadocia, just the two of them, to get married in Cappadocia's natural and historical beauty without anyone else. Oh, and of course, let's not forget their two sweet dogs who accompany them: Cooper and Lenin.
When Chelsea and Colin came to Cappadocia, they couldn't bring their beloved dogs Cooper and Lenin across the ocean. But Chelsea had found a way: she had their faces printed on her socks. So they were there too.
As the balloons ignited, the darkness began to fill with a reddish glow, and Chelsea and Colin's wedding began in that vast and historic valley of Cappadocia. Then the balloons started to rise one by one; first one or two, then dozens. The sky slowly filled with balloons and people waving down from them.
We made our way from the balloons to Sunrise Hill, from there to Love Valley, then toward the fairy chimneys. Until we reached the real destination, the place where vows would be exchanged: Yusuf Koç Church.
When Chelsea and I first spoke, she said she really wanted a historic structure to be part of this elopement story. Yusuf Koç Church was exactly what she was looking for. Built in the 11th century by being carved into the rock formations, this church remains from the times when Cappadocia was a refuge for Christianity. Centuries ago, people worshipped here in secret, prayers were offered, hopes were carried.
And now Chelsea and Colin were making their vows to each other, witnessed by those same thousand-year-old stone walls. And of course, Cooper and Lenin were silently watching them from Chelsea's socks.
Now I'll leave you with the videos and photos of the true heroes of this story.
