Marc and Veronika Fishstein

Approximate Date of the Photo
March 13, 2010

Where in Balboa Park was this photo taken
The Persian Rug Fountain

Share your Love Story
Picture it....March 13, 2010...Balboa Park.

The lead up....
Marc and I met each other 3 years before whilst running with mutual friends around one of the local lakes. We became friends immediately and eventually started dating. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Marc was to propose the December prior to our wedding but postponed doing so by a week as we awoke that morning to find a lump on my breast. By January I'd been officially diagnosed...it was breast cancer. Amidst doctor appointments, tests, fear, and uncertainty Marc was by my side and rather than leaving as some might do, he chose to stay and asked that we press on with planning a wedding for that March. With that said, we set a date and with it fixed our eyes on the future. Our invitations simply instructed our guests to show up at the Persian Run Fountain on the on the day of the event at a given time...we like to think of it as a flash mob wedding.

Day of...
While getting ready, I got a frantic call from Marc telling me that there were St. Patty's Day festivities going and that parking might be limited...in all the craziness we'd failed to realize what else might be going on that weekend. Turns out it was a very busy weekend at the park, we saw multiple wedding parties and photo shoots along with the festivities. Marc ended up parking at the zoo as a result and forgot his vows in the car, not realizing it until it was too late to go back (he ended up improvising). We were surrounded by loved ones that day...small...intimate...wonderful. Everyone there was there for us. The picture you see is just after we wed. Our loved ones blowing bubbles as we left the area. We love this photo, because it captures and freezes a moment of happiness, a moment of time where we forgot about the reality ahead of us and enjoyed our love. We had so much uncertainty and were united in life and love more so than most on their wedding day. Looking back, it was the perfect day. We went on, there were multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments but through it all and still today Marc has been by my side.

Today...
Its five years later....five years cancer free.
We've been blessed with a beautiful new born baby boy that we love and adore. I am blessed to have Marc as a husband and so proud of us as a couple. We've been challenged more so than most this early into their marriage but its made us stronger and we know we can whether anything as long as we're together. For that reason we go back to the Persian Rug Fountain every year and toast to our love....

Name of the Photographer
Mark Wallace

Photographer's website
NotApplicableFamilyMember.com