GET ME TO THE CHURCH ON TIME!

WHILE many people spent their days scrambling for bread and making snowmen during the ‘Beast from the East’, south Wicklow couple Stephanie Byrne and Damien Cullen had bigger things on their minds as their wedding day approached on Friday.

The couple, who reside in Ballingate, Carnew, spent the days before their marriage on March 2 desperately trying to ensure that it could go ahead.

The bride, who is a native of Plattenstown, was at a loss as to how she would travel to the Church of SS Mary and Peter in Arklow on her big day and her Carnew-based groom faced equally difficult circumstances with snow-laden roads.

‘We were trying everything to see how we could get to the church and, in the end, after loads of ringing around, local man Colin O’Toole brought us into the church by tractor where the snow had been shovelled away by Fr Murtagh and some local men. My sister Kelley’s boyfriend Charles Cullen and his friend Wayne Moore brought Damien in from Carnew and they had an awful job. They left at 10.10 a.m. for the Mass at 12 p.m,’ Stephanie explained.

While Stephanie, like every bride, had careful plans made for her hair and make up on the day, they fell through when her hairdresser got stuck in the snow and could not travel on the day of the wedding.

Her neighbour Samantha Cullen stepped up without a second thought and popped over to the Byrne household where she worked her magic on the bridal party. Stephanie’s sister Kelley then looked after the make-up and was more than capable due to her experience working in Adrian Dunne Pharmacy in Arklow.

While Stephanie, who works at Sacred Heart NS in Aughrim, and plant machinery driver Damien were due to welcome 180 guests to their reception at the Arklow Bay Hotel, the snow meant that just 54 were able to share their big day with them.

However, it was just as special and Stephanie and Damien never thought at any stage that it would not go ahead.

‘We were pretty positive right up until the morning and while it was difficult to