As Goniela stood waiting in the shadows of the cavern early Saturday morning, her future husband, wedding party and guests waited on a platform built on top of a formation of rocks estimated to be more than 100,000 years old.
There was a brief silence. The only sound came from the echoing stream of water flowing in from the ground overhead.
Soon the guests began to collectively hum the melody to “Here Comes the Bride,” because the electrical outlet malfunctioned and didn’t allow the boombox to play.
Goniela began her bridal march.
Goniela and her fiancé, Brad Barcom, both Bloomington residents, stood hand in hand, preparing to make a lifelong commitment of love and dedication to one another.
For them, standing before their family and friends on the precipice of marriage was more meaningful because of the location. Getting married in a cave signified both their passion for one another and for caving.
“Caving is really important to us,” Brad said. “For some it’s a hobby, for some it’s a lifestyle. And for us it’s a lifestyle.”
Caving is also what brought Goniela and Brad together.
Six years ago Brad joined the Indiana Speleological Survey, an organization dedicated to exploring and mapping caves in southern Indiana.
Brad was part of the team of explorers that discovered the section of the cave now known as Indiana Caverns in October 2010.
Two years later, the ISS planned a survey trip in the Binkley Cave system in Corydon, Indiana. A guest joined the group on its trip.
“Beforehand, I heard a hot bat biologist was going to come visit us to go caving with us,” Brad said. “For the first time in my caving career I showed up early.”
Goniela was the “hot bat biologist.” She has been caving for nine years and began her professional career as a cave researcher before making the transition to bat biology after completing her graduate degree.
“I had no idea that my love for caving would bring me the love of my life,” Brad said.
In addition to her beauty, personality and affection, Brad said he admires that Goniela is a tenacious caver.
“She caves about as hard as any man I’ve ever met,” he said. “She moves with an economy in her movement. She’s got finesse.”
The meeting was monumental, Goniela said.
“We developed a friendship then a relationship,” she said. “Now we have an inseparable bond.”
Friends agreed that the setting was fitting.
“It’s just so appropriate for the two of them,” groomsman Dan Goble said.
Brad and Goniela strapped on headlights to read their vows in the portion of the cave appropriately called “Big Bone Mountain” for the large number of prehistoric bones discovered there on ISS’s expedition in 2010. A discovery that Brad describes as the “find of a lifetime.”
The two agreed for better or for worse and through sickness and in health to spend the rest of their lives together.
This was the first wedding held in Indiana Caverns, said Carol Groves, marketing director for Indiana Caverns.
“We’re not in the business of letting people get married in the cave,” she said. “This was a courtesy to them because it made it special. They deserved to get married in the cave they met in.”
Having a wedding ceremony did pose some difficulties, Goniela said.
“We did have some resistance from more traditional family members just because it was such a unique venue,” Goniela said. “But we wanted it to be intimate, and we were not going to negotiate on the location.”
Irma Iskali, the mother of the bride, admitted to being skeptical of the location at first, but said after seeing the beautiful wedding ceremony she was extremely pleased.
“At the beginning I was kind of hesitant when they said they were going to do it in a cave, but now it’s worthwhile,” she said. “It was beautiful. I’m very happy they chose this place to do the wedding vows.”
Brad said he married the perfect woman in the perfect place.
“When it came to a venue it just made perfect sense,” he said. “Before we met it was something that was special to both of us. Churches are great, but the cave is sort of our church.”
