Chilly reception – wedding photographer gets shock after falling through ice

This will certainly make for a chilly reception! One wedding photographer had the shock of his life snapping a bride and groom – after he FELL THROUGH the ice on a frozen lake.

Nathan Welton, 38, had been booked by the newly betrothed Tara and Brad Waugh, to take photos of their wedding by Bear Lake in Estes Park, Colorado.

Despite a blizzard two days before, the couple were adamant they would go ahead with the wedding – but due to the amount of snow, it was impossible to locate the shore of the lake.

While Nathan walked off to the side of the ceremony, he had no idea he had accidently walked towards the edge of the lake thanks to the blanket of snow that had descended.

It transpired that Nathan was quite literally on thin ice and managed to fall through the sheet mid-snap and ended up submerged to his midriff.

Ever the professional though, Nathan continued to take photos of the day as the assembled guests all fell about laughing at his somewhat frosty predicament.

Tara and Brad, who share a love of adventure, had wanted to get married in the mountains for the amphitheatre feel to them.

Tara said: “The first thing I realised something had happened was I heard a funny noise and saw my husband-to-be’s face turn to one of exasperation.

“Nathan had fallen through the ice and was up to his chest in the cold water. At first I didn’t know what to do, but I certainly didn’t want to be the next one in the water so let the men help him out.

“But as the guys rushed towards him, Nathan shouted for them to hold on so he could take photos of them going over to give him a hand.

“Nathan was a great sport though and as soon as he was pulled out, the show went on. He even carried on photographing us for another hour, despite probably having frostbite on his feet.”

Nathan said: “My first thought was to keep my cameras dry, so as I went down I held them above my head. Once I knew I could stand in the water, I realised it was a great opportunity to take some very unique wedding photos, so I just kept shooting.

“I have an entire sequence of Brad and their officiant, Tara’s brother, running over to fish me out of the lake.

“Tara and Brad are a very fun, adventurous and down to earth couple, and I imagined they would really appreciate images of the rescue. I was right.

“Once I was pulled out of the lake, Tara gave me a huge high five – it wasn’t that cold fortunately as I had thermals on underneath my wedding clothes. Interrupting the ceremony as I was wet wasn’t an option.”