A photo of a young Marine holding his bride-to-be’s hand in prayer went viral over Memorial Day weekend after it was posted online by the wedding photographer.
On Saturday, U.S. Marine Cpl. Caleb Earwood prayed with his bride Maggie before their ceremony in Asheville, North Carolina. Wedding photographer Dwayne Schmidt captured the image of the two holding hands, while separated by a wall so as not to break tradition of seeing each other before the altar, ABC News reported.
“They hid me in a room, and he stepped up on the stairwell, and he stuck his hand out, and I grabbed his hand,” Maggie Earwood told ABC. “There were no dry eyes in the room.”
“The whole room was full of emotion,” Mr. Schmidt told ABC. “I tried not to cry and focus on what I was doing.”
Mr. Schmidt posted the photo on Facebook Saturday night, saying, “This has to be one of the best things I have ever got to see much less photograph.”
The post garnered more than 44,000 likes and nearly 7,000 shares by Tuesday afternoon.
“So many people are emailing me,” Mr. Schmidt told ABC, “saying thank you for sharing this. It’s what America is supposed to be about.”
The Earwoods are currently on their honeymoon visiting Dollywood in Tennessee before they return to Camp Lejeune where Cpl. Earwood is based, ABC reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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