Eastern Iowa businesses step up to help make a wedding happen. Here's why.

A Ukrainian couple who now reside in Iowa City will unite in marriage thanks to the generosity of the Johnson County community.

Artem Kolomiiets arrived in Iowa with his brother Dymtro and his mother Tetiana in September 2022. The family of three was among the millions of people who sought a new home because of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Now, Artem and fiancé Olha Lavriuk — who was reunited with her soon-to-be husband earlier this year in Iowa City — will realize their dream Saturday, put in motion by the people who’ve supported them since their arrival to strangers who are all moved by one thing ? their story.

“Because human beings are created for community, I think that we have this innate need to be a part of something greater than ourselves. And this is that thing,” said Marissa Kolander, minister at the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. “And I think that's why it's so easy for people to say I have something I can bring, or I have time I can donate, or I want to be a part of this.”

The Kolomiiets' journey to Iowa City

Artem, Tetiana and Dymtro Kolomiiets came to Iowa City with a hand from Sarah Outterson-Murphy and husband, Bobby, through the Uniting for Ukraine program. The program allows Americans to temporarily sponsor a Ukrainian citizen to live stateside.

Artem and Tetiana hid from constant shelling for 109 days in their Mariupol home. As conditions worsened and temperatures dipped, Artem, who uses a wheelchair, was trapped inside the apartment due to the elevator shutdown.

Eventually, the two would reunite with Dymtro and live in Finland before journeying to Iowa last year. Olha arrived five months after the family of three set foot at the Eastern Iowa Airport.

The congregation at Outterson-Murphys’ church, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Iowa City, rallied behind the Kolomiiets, including pastor Sarah Goettsch, who helped with the wedding.

More: A family of 3 fled Ukraine. Now, they live in Iowa City, where community members stepped up to help.

Eastern Iowa businesses donate goods, time for wedding

An array of local vendors have stepped up to provide the perfect wedding, which is slated for this weekend.

Hands Jewelers in Iowa City donated rings for the couple's wedding. University of Iowa alumnae Emily McMahon of Soirée Wedding Planning provided her services. Holley’s Shop for Men in Cedar Rapids donated a suit for Artem.

The generosity of others goes on, including Rochelle Jeffers of Heart to Heart Bridal in North Liberty who provided Olha the dress when Kolander asked her friend, Jeffers’ mother-in-law, if the business would ever donate a dress and shared the Kolomiiets’ story.

In late March, Olha visited a bridal store located in the decades-old church with stained glass windows on Penn Street, and with the help of a translator app, found her dress and veil.

“We just feel very lucky to be involved, be a part of her big day, no matter if we donated or whatever it took,” Jeffers said.

Kolander credited Jeffers involvement, her “boundless generosity,” that pushed “the boulder at the top of the hill” for the wedding.

Big Grove Brewery will provide drinks and small eats for guests.

Chris Crissinger-Vurciaga, chef di cuisine at the brewery, said that the company frequently gets involved in volunteer opportunities and that helping with Artem and Olha’s wedding was just another opportunity.

Crissinger-Vurciaga came to the brewery for a job, but discovered the business reflected his “giving spirit.”

“I've been able to ask for help and receive help,” he said. “Our values as a company is about caring about community and about pushing for more and trying to do better.”

The chef di cuisine said while the business could provide kitchen supplies or money, providing an experience is deeper than any material items.

A few desserts will be provided by Kolander, whose previous side hustle was baking cakes. A professional Iowa City baker is baking dozens of cupcakes as well as a Ukrainian wedding cake.

The local support has helped bring a couple even closer together.

“I don't think that we as Americans can fathom how much they have experienced, how much they lost,” Kolander said. “They talk about friends from their church at home that when they say there's no one there, they mean that people have died… and so when it comes to a wedding, weddings are the start of a new life and I think to be a part of something that is so — it's significant for anybody, for any average person, but for them, it means so much more. The meaning and the magnitude and the weight of this are so much more.”

How you can help

Donations can be made for wedding expenses via a GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/kolomiiets-wedding-expenses. The page was created by Goettsch, which currently has a goal of $2,500.

Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa City area businesses donate for two Ukrainian immigrants to wed