A wedding is an incredibly important day. People celebrate their weddings in very different ways; some spend huge amounts of money, others take a simple approach, some choose a church wedding, others a registry office, some invite hundreds of people, others invite just their intimate family. Whatever way you decide to celebrate your wedding, most people agree that it is one of the most important days of their lives. The day that two people announce their bond that will continue for the rest of their lives. The memories from this special day are incredibly important and anyone who has been married will know that being able to look at photos 5,10 or 50 years later is a way to relive the whole experience. That is why if you lose the photos of your wedding it is devastating.
Mick and Tracey Hepworth have been married for 35 years. Their day was a special one. Their friends and family were all in attendance, it was a beautiful sunny day and the pair had a traditional wedding. Family and friends excitedly took pictures of the event and Tracey’s cousin, Karen, was particularly snap happy that afternoon, catching some fantastic photos of the event. The day was going perfectly and celebrations continued into the night. The entire wedding party was up dancing for a particular song when something terrible happened. Karen, tired from dancing, decided to take a break and sit down. She returned to her table and found that her bag was missing.
Tracey turned in alarm and saw two unknown men running out of the room, she shouted to stop them. A fight broke out and somehow in the chaos, Karen’s dad was stabbed. Luckily her dad survived the ordeal and the happy couple was able to go on their honeymoon. Karen was simply relieved that her dad was going to be ok. Later in the aftermath though, she realized that her camera was in the bag along with the film she had used for the event. All of her pictures were gone. While others in attendance had some photos too, Karen was devastated that some incredible moments that she had captured were now gone.
Fast forward 35 years and Karen’s sister contacted her. She had been contacted on Facebook as someone had spotted her in a wedding photo. On the night that the robbery took place, the bandits had taken the valuables out of the bag and left it behind. They left the film behind as well. Angie, a kind-hearted soul, had developed the film in hopes of finding the owner of the bag. She was unsuccessful. However, as she was moving house this year she came across the photos and decided to try her luck again, this time with the help of social media.
The photos went viral in her home town of Leeds and eventually Karen and the rest of the wedding party were found. The family was reunited with the photos days later and thanked Angie with a bunch of flowers and plenty of hugs. She had restored a missing moment that was incredibly important to the whole family.
Looking at the photos you can see the incredible joy on everyone’s face. It also captured a strange tradition that is common in some parts of England. In one photo the happy couple is being spoken to by a well-dressed chimney sweep. It is believed that it is good luck for a married couple as a chimney sweep saved the life of King George II many years ago. It is a small moment that is strange and wonderful and would have been forever lost if it was not for the kindness of a stranger.
