Nova Scotia newlyweds embrace stormy winter wedding
Bride drives SUV into ditch, groom's parents get locked out of their vehicle
A Nova Scotia couple who wed amid a raging snowstorm says they were pleasantly surprised that everything went so well, despite weather-related hiccups that included having to pay for a tow truck with money gifted to them.
Eden and Mitchell Graham got married at Paradise United Baptist Church during last week's snow storm and the weather prevented about 30 per cent of their guests from making it to the ceremony.
But even that didn't dampen their day.
"Everyone says weddings are supposed to be stressful and everyone is supposed to be cranky," said Eden Graham, "Once the day got there, neither one of us cared ... There was no way you could make us mad even when I drove my new SUV into the ditch."
Mitchell Graham says the day kicked off with the wedding starting about 45 minutes late because his parents got locked out of their truck.
After the ceremony, guests also got stuck in the church's snowy parking lot, so Graham and his best man got to work.
'I never pictured a winter wedding'
"My cousin Trevor, he was the best man, he got fairly drunk in the first little bit and he was very enthusiastically pushing out cars," he said.
The bride's vehicle ended up stuck while she was trying to pull into her own driveway amid snowy conditions that made it difficult to see.
"I'm in my wedding dress and I'm climbing out the passenger door because … I couldn't get out the driver's side," she said.
"We opened up all the wedding cards at 3:00 a.m. and called a tow truck because we didn't have any cash on us to pull my car out."
The Middleton couple got engaged last fall after dating for three years. It was around that time Eden Graham found out she was pregnant. She wanted to have the wedding before the birth of her child.
"I never pictured a winter wedding ever. It never was my plan, but it was awesome, it was perfect," she said.
"Everyone expected me to be crazy or hormonal and I had a great time."
Gallivanting through snowbanks
One of the nicest surprises of the big day for the newlyweds was their wedding photos. The snow looks like confetti falling behind the smiling couple. The bride even climbed over a snowbank in her gown to get some shots.
"I'm kind of warm anyway because I'm pregnant so I didn't mind the cold at all," said Eden Graham.
"It was kind of refreshing. It was nice actually. The dress was really big with lots of layers. It was full of snow but I had rubber boots on and gallivanting through snowbanks."
It wasn't as refreshing for her husband.
"I was a little cold at times because I am balding," he said.
Photographer Steve Skafte says it was his first time doing a wedding shoot in the middle of a winter storm.
"I generally only do weddings from May to October and not because of my choice but because I don't think there are a lot of winter weddings," Skafte said.
He says most of the wedding party pictures were taken inside the church.
"It was only the bride and groom who were brave enough to get out into the actual fray."
