Ruth Foran PhotographyA bride and groom have shown how the Beast of the East is no match for the power of true love.
Ferocious blizzards battered Meath in Ireland as lovebirds Eric Horan and Sian Williams prepared to say their ‘I do’s.’
Sadly, other couples have been forced to cancel their nuptials under the freakishly violent weather conditions.
However, the good people of Meath pulled together to ensure a happy – if slightly unusual – day for the spouses to be. And what a spectacular looking day it was.
Ruth Foran PhotographyThinking of the bride’s long dress, local residents headed to the church the morning of the wedding to shovel away snow prior to her arrival.
Costello’s Central shop in Kilmessan put out a call for 4X4 drivers to ferry wedding guests through the treacherous weather to the Trim Castle Hotel.
Even Trim Fire Services showed up to take the newly minted husband and wife to their reception party. True community spirit all round.
Ruth Foran PhotographyAs I’m sure you will agree, the wedding photographs from the day were like something out of a fairytale; with experienced photographer Ruth Foran making creative use of the ethereal palette of white lace on snow.
Indeed, the happiness radiating from the pair caught together in the wild snowdrift personally made me feel very, very single indeed.
Ruth Foran PhotographyHowever, capturing these precious moments was a slightly less than magical process, as Ruth explained to UNILAD:
Because of the whole warning was to be back in by 4 o’clock. So with the timing of the day, it was just making sure to keep the morning going.
You’re making sure the bride was kind of dressed, kind of very much on time to get her to the church to get her back.
She continued:
Now we were planning on two stop offs for photographs if the weather wasn’t so bad.
The fire brigade actually gave them an escort back in so we said ‘right, let’s drop the first location and go straight back to the hotel,’ which is Trim Castle Hotel.
But the Trim Castle itself is directly across the road. It might seem like from the photographs it looked beautiful, and it’s great memories for them to have. But, I mean, the conditions were not ideal by any means.
The bride wore socks and wellies in the car and even to open the car door, the snow was pelting in on top of her! And then it was literally just minding the bride, getting them out for a couple of photographs and just working as fast as we possibly could.
Ruth Foran PhotographyLuckily, Ruth revealed how the blissful newlyweds were able to share a giggle at the bizarreness of their start to married life:
Her veil blew off and they just laughed. I mean they were absolutely frozen.
The snow was pelting down on top of the and all they could do was throw their arms around each other and just cuddle.
Ruth also spoke about the pressure of having to deliver beautiful photographs under such challenging circumstances, noting how it would have been simpler with ‘a beautiful blanket of snow, with no blizzard happening.’
Fortunately, Sian’s hair and makeup stood rock solid through the photoshoot. I for one would really love to know which brand of hairspray she uses…
Ruth Foran PhotographyAll the very best of luck to Sian and Eric. I’m sure their love can weather any storm – metaphorical or otherwise – that life throws at them!
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.