Ashton and Zachary Smith had just left their wedding ceremony and stepped outside Philadelphia City Hall for photos when hundreds of Croatian soccer fans in red-and-white checked jerseys swarmed them.
It was June, and the World Cup had taken over the city. Croatia was due to play Ghana in Philadelphia on Saturday, its last group-stage match, and the fans had spent the day before filling the streets around City Hall. Philadelphia Sports Network writer Jimmy King filmed the crowd and caught the newlyweds, their wedding party and their photographer in the middle of it.
The couple had been warned that the road was closed off. They went anyway. “Everyone stormed us,” Ashton Smith said later. “At first we were like, oh my gosh I hope everyone is with us. But everyone was there, everyone was celebrating with us and it was just amazing how welcoming they were to complete strangers.” She called walking out into the crowd “the best decision that we ever could have made.”
Photos and video of the Smiths kissing among the fans spread across social media. The wedding party looked happy to be swept up, and a Fox News writer pointed out that Croatia has fewer than 4 million people and still fills stadiums and takes over cities abroad.
A second honeymoon in Croatia
That might have been the end of it. Instead, the Croatian National Tourist Board and the fan group Mi Hrvati, or We Croats, invited the couple to Split on the Adriatic coast for what they called a “second honeymoon.”
The Smiths joined the fans’ march along Split’s waterfront before Croatia’s UEFA Nations League match against Spain on Tuesday. A band played and the fans sang. Later that evening the couple watched the game. “The fans are so energetic,” Ashton said. “They brought the same energy that they did in Philly.”
The trip also covered the coastal town of Sibenik, a sailing excursion and a tour of Krka National Park. Dubrovnik was next on Friday, with Zagreb last. Ashton said it was go, go, go compared with their relaxed first honeymoon, which they had booked before the wedding.
Daniel Pedisic of Mi Hrvati, whose group follows the team worldwide and is known for carrying a 100-meter Croatian flag, said the fans’ reaction in Philadelphia showed “the kind of people we are, warm, hospitable people.” He added: “We were with them that day and now we brought them to Croatia.”
Zachary Smith said he had never expected to see the country. “I knew all about Croatia, where it was, the country obviously,” he said. “But (I) never really thought that I would ever make it here, so it’s amazing.”
Sources
- US newlyweds tour Croatia after fans photobomb their wedding shoot
- US newlyweds tour Croatia after fans photobomb their wedding shoot
- Croatian World Cup fans take over Philadelphia and invade some couple's wedding photos
