Couple Finally Sees Their Wedding Photos 56 Years Later After Not Being Able to Afford Them at the Time: 'Happy Tears'
The never-purchased photos eventually ended up at a garage sale and were later sent to a museum, where the couple's friend happens to work
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Wedding photo albums (stock image)For more than 50 years, Margaret and Barry Sharman's memories of their 1968 wedding were preserved only in their minds. Though they hired a photographer to document the occasion, they could not afford to pay for the prints at the time.
However, through a stroke of serendipity, some of the long-lost wedding photos made their way back to the couple, who lives in British Columbia, Canada, according to CBC.
All these years later, a set of the photos ended up at a garage sale, where someone purchased them and then brought them to a local museum. They were forwarded on to another museum where Margaret's longtime friend — and bridesmaid — Sandra Farynuk happens to work as an administrator.
Recognizing herself in a photo of the wedding party, Farynuk texted Margaret and asked her if she had her original wedding photos. "I said we were never able to pick them up because we didn't have any money," Margaret recalled to CBC's Radio West.
She said Farynuk then surprised her by replying, "Well, I'm looking at them."
Farynuk had the photos redone and sent them to Margaret, 77, and Barry, 78. They arrived on Christmas Eve last month, making for a magical holiday gift for the couple. "It was heartwarming for me to be able to do this," Farynuk told CBC.
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A framed wedding photo (stock image)The set features three photos from the Sharmans' wedding, which took place in Enderby, B.C., on a July afternoon 56 years ago: one of the wedding party, one of the newlyweds and a third image of the bride posing by herself.
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For Margaret and Barry, finally seeing the photos from their special day was an emotional moment. "She cried a lot. Happy tears," Barry told CBC of his wife. "She was just beside herself with joy."
Looking at the images sparked fond memories of their nuptials. Barry remembers watching his bride walk down the aisle in a white dress made by her mom and thinking she looked "stunning."
"I was just so happy that she picked me," he recalled to CBC.
"I just looked back and how young we were," Barry added. "Marg was 20, I was 21. We've come a long way, and we've had a wonderful time and a wonderful life."
As for the photographer who held onto the wedding photos for so long, Margaret told local outlet Summerland Review: "He's just an angel for taking the time to keep them and not dispose of them. Every time I think about it I cry."
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