A couple planned for a fall wedding in Washington state. A 'historic' snowstorm changed everything
Roughly 30 minutes away from a couple's planned outdoor wedding near Spokane, Washington, photographer Jaime Fletcher wasn't thinking about a potential snowstorm.
On the drive from the Spokane Valley to Bear Creek Lodge at the base of Mount Spokane, though, the snow became heavier and blanketed the area.
The couple, Sean and Brittany Tuohy, handled the situation with smiles, Fletcher said. They originally planned an outdoor wedding but had to pivot indoors in the face of the storm.
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"They've been together for almost 10 years," Fletcher said in a phone interview with USA TODAY. "I had never met them in person until the wedding day. I photograph weddings all the time, and it's so apparent when people love each other. This was one of the sweetest loves I've ever seen.”
"Sean was so sweet with her, picking snow out of her eyelashes. Doing little things he's not prompted to do. I just thought it was really special they made the best of it. They really wanted to get married, regardless of the crazy storm outside, and they did it."
4 feet deep: Historic 'winter' storm means September snow day for kids in Browning, Montana
Snow covered parts of Washington, California, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Nevada and Utah in what the National Weather Service called a "historic" winter storm. Saturday's snow, a record 1.9 inches at the city's airport, marked Spokane's first recorded September snow since 1926.
Prepared with winter boots and a winter coat, Fletcher was outside for about 15 minutes in the snow with Sean and Brittany, plus groomsmen and bridesmaids.
"They thought it was the funniest thing," Fletcher said. "They had the best attitude about it."
She added, "Honestly, I was dreading sending the photos because I'm a perfectionist. There was so much snow, it was hard to work with. But everybody has loved them."
Fletcher said she's never taken photos in such conditions. She said she's shot winter weddings before, but she's never had snow on a wedding day. She's been shooting weddings for about three years and has been a photographer for about a decade.
"The snow was going every direction," she said. "It wasn't just going in one direction."
The Tuohys are on their way to their honeymoon in Germany, Fletcher said.
Contributing: John Bacon, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wedding snowstorm doesn't ruin couple's spirits. Or photos
