St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church in the Greenfield section of Pittsburgh was the setting for the wedding of Larisa Katherine Bodnarchuk and Thomas Curtis Pfeuffer. Larisa is the daughter of Paul & Leslie (Begala) Bodnarchuk of Ross Twp., PA and a granddaughter of the late Michael & Marian (Arendas) Begala, long time members of Holy Trinity Byzantine Catholic Church, Wall, PA.

The groom is the son of Thomas & Nancy (Tarquinio) Pfeuffer of Robinson Twp., PA. Fr. Frank A. Firko, of Holy Ghost, North Side—where the bride and her parents are members—officiated at the wedding. A small ensemble of members from the Archeparchial Choir, under the direction of Mrs. Darlene Fejka, sang the liturgical responses. Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Minneapolis, MN, served as her sister’s maid of honor, and Shawn Pfeuffer, Pittsburgh, was his brother’s best man. A reception followed at the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum, MuseumLab, North Side.

The bride, a GCU member and alumnae of both Slavjane Folk Ensemble and Poltava Ukrainian Dance Company, included a number of ethnic touches on her wedding day. These included a Ukrainian korovai and Rusyn medovnicki on the cookie table, and the music of Rusynskŷ Betjare who serenaded guests before and after the wedding Liturgy and during the reception. They played traditional Carpatho Rusyn folk songs, a few kolos for dancing and—of course—the traditional bridal dance.

Larisa, a graduate of Shady Side Academy and Duquesne University, is a digital marketing manager for ProspHire, Pittsburgh. Thomas, a graduate of Montour High School and the University of Utah, is an appeals coordinator for Zoll Medical, PIttsburgh. The couple honeymooned in Italy and Croatia and currently reside in Kennedy Twp., PA with their exuberant and loving canines, Nyla and Nico.

Leslie Bodnarchuk

Photo courtesy of Iris Marie Photography, LLC