HOPEDALE - Virginia Santos, 29, and William Wright, 31, were married in freezing weather at Rustic Bridge in Hopedale Parklands, with Atty. Robert Phillips, Hopedale town clerk, performing the ceremony.
Originally the wedding was to be held at Clear's Quarry off Cedar Street in Milford, but a hitch developed and it was moved to the Rustic Bridge area.
The temperature was 15 degrees and dropping. The bride wore a heavy coat and the groom was dressed in a parka. The guests were bundled up in heavy winter jackets, boots and snowsuits.
The bride and groom said it was love of nature that prompted them to be married in the cold and snow.
"It's a nice place to have it," the groom, a native of Hopedale and former resident of High Street, Milford, said. A reception was held at the home of Karen and David Meade of Hopedale Street.
The ceremony had been scheduled to take place in a quarry off Route 85 in Milford, Wright said.
But Phillips, justice of the peace, feared they would all be arrested for trespassing, and plans were changed.
The quarry was chosen, Mrs. Wright said, because of the wonderful times the two have spent swimming there. The Rustic Bridge was chosen as and alternative because the couple has hiked in the area.
The wedding guests had no choice as to the whereabouts of the ceremony, but graciously stood in the cold, stamping their feet and rubbing their hands.
David Meade and Tom Lipsky are old friends of Wright. They once played in a band together. Another friend, Bruce Lutz, took photos at the wedding.
Three children of the couple by previous marriages were also present. Keith 7, and Billy 9, sons of Wright, and Neil Santos, 5, son of the bride, were dressed in snowsuits.
The Milford Daily News, January 10, 1981. The wedding took place on January 4, 1981.
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