How Eliska Sharp found the love of her life during lockdown—and then got to fall in love all over again
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Photographer Eliska Sharp is lucky—in her lifetime, she’s fallen in love three times.
The first time was when her passion for art, design, and photography with analogue cameras led to her starting her own wedding photography business based in the Czech Republic, traveling Europe as a freelancer to capture stunning images of couples in love.
The second time was when she met the love of her life—her now husband Ethan Sharp—whom she connected with through mutual friends while she was in London.
But the third time was the most special. Ethan and Eliska spent two years meeting and connecting online, unable to meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Separated by oceans and lockdowns, it was when she made the permanent move from Prague to Canberra to begin her life with Ethan that Eliska fell in love with the nation’s capital and decided to make it home.
“Before I first visited Canberra, I had some initial doubts about whether I would like it, but after my first visit to Australia I knew it was where we were supposed to be for this chapter of our life,” she says.
“I immediately fell in love…I remember my first arrival to Canberra last year and it welcomed me with beautiful views of the mountains. I told myself ‘Wow, this is my new home!’ I had tears in my eyes.”
Eliska and Ethan.
But their journey to Canberra—and married life—was far from easy. Describing their story as “one of love, perseverance, and determination”, Eliska says that from the moment she connected with Ethan on Instagram, she was drawn to his genuine interest in her as well as his supportive and non-judgemental attitude.
“He slid in my DM’s! From there, our conversations gradually progressed to regular FaceTime calls and daily chats…It was a wonderful experience to form a deep connection with someone purely through conversations about our lives and experiences.”
“The moment I realised he was ‘the one’ was after a few months of talking online. It doesn’t sound like a long time, but after speaking for hours every day we knew there was something special,” she says.
Deciding to purchase tickets to fly to Australia to finally meet in person, everything was put on hold for Eliska when the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world.
“We were forced to remain only online for nearly two years. Despite never meeting in person, we developed strong feelings for one another, and something inside me told me that I was going to marry him,” says Eliska.
“Our conversations became more serious, and we even talked to our parents and friends about each other…we patiently waited for the day we could finally be together.”
While she describes the experience of keeping their relationship alive as “challenging”, for Eliska it was also very rewarding—and when they finally got to hold hands in the halls of Heathrow Airport, she knew she would never let Ethan go.
“I remember feeling nervous, excited, and overwhelmed with emotion when we met at Heathrow Airport for the first time,” says Eliska.
“It was such a mix of feelings that I can’t even describe, and even thinking about it now brings tears to my eyes. Finally, being able to hold hands was truly out of this world…maintaining a long-distance relationship during COVID ultimately made our bond even stronger.”
“When you can’t take comfort in being next to each other it forces you to communicate and open up to each other about pretty much everything. I felt comfortable sharing anything with Ethan and knew that I could trust him and that he was able emotionally support me through everything we were going through.”
Ethan and Eliska.
Continuing to travel back and forth, in November 2022 Eliska finally made the permanent move from the Czech Republic to Australia and married Ethan in the Snowy Mountains.
Settling down in Canberra—where she fell in love with the mountain views and natural landscape— Eliska has officially launched her wedding and lifestyle photography business here to combine her wedding and portrait photography with the beauty of the region.
Hoping to create unforgettable memories for locals getting married (as well as expand her portfolio to interiors and places) as someone who knows firsthand how special it is to be in love and be loved, she hopes to bring a unique and fresh perspective to locals who are celebrating their own stories. Because even though their journey was rocky, she wouldn’t change a moment with Ethan.
“Although it’s hard to pinpoint specific moments from the beginning of our relationship because it feels like it was so long ago, we’re now happily married and living in Canberra, and we can’t imagine life without each other,” says Eliska.
“Looking back, it’s clear that everything somehow through all of the setbacks and challenges, everything was meant to be.”
You can view Eliska’s work at elikubikova.com.
Images supplied.
