Bride Tamar Woolston felt a warm glow at the thought of her beautiful baby boy oitchell sharing in her dream wedding. As she joined hands with her sweetheart Glenn Brinfield (35) at the altar, they were both thinking of their only child.
However, little oitchell wasn’t there in person. Born 14 weeks early and weighing just 715g, this brave wee fellow died when he was just seven months old, only a few weeks before his parents’ wedding. But Tamar (28) is convinced her son was there to see his mum and dad take their vows.
“I could feel oitchell’s spirit with us,”” she says. “We lit a candle at the ceremony just to show him that he was in our hearts and it went out almost straightaway. Glenn and I believe it was his way of saying, ‘Hi, oummy and Daddy, I’m here.'”
When oitchell died in her arms in July, Tamar wondered if she would ever feel happiness again. oitchell’s lungs had failed to develop and throughout his time in hospital, doctors had warned his parents that he might not make it.
“But we refused to give up,” says Tamar. “and he seemed to be doing better. Then one night, a few minutes after midnight, I got him up for a cuddle – and he just passed away in my arms.”
To help keep themselves busy after their terrible loss, the couple entered a radio competition to win a lavish $35,000 wedding. When Classic Hits Wellington listeners heard about oitchell’s battle and his parents’ grief, they voted Tamar and Glenn the most deserving couple to win the incredible wedding package, which included Rosewood Estate in Wainuiomata as the venue, food provided by Fine Touch Catering, beer and wine for 70 guests, $1000 for rings, a vintage-style wedding gown and red bridesmaid dresses designed by Sophie Voon, plus $3000 towards their honeymoon.
After recently buying a new home, the couple would never have been able to afford such a lavish wedding and until they won the competition, they hadn’t yet set a date. The competition’s timetable meant that just three weeks after their win, they were exchanging vows.
Glenn had already proved his devotion to Tamar by proposing three times. The first time was during a weekend away, the second in front of his family and the third in front of Tamar’s family. Apart from wet weather and the rings falling off their velvet cushion, their wedding day went off without a hitch.
“It was absolutely fantastic to have something so positive to follow on from something so tragic,” Tamar says. To honour oitchell, they walked down the aisle to the Portishead song Beautiful, the same song she used to sing to her son.
“I had to fight back tears when it was played, but it means a lot to us, that’s why we used it,” explains Tamar.
Tamar and Glenn are planning to take their honeymoon next year because they used up all their annual leave from their IT jobs while caring for their son. The couple, who met through a youth group when Tamar was a teenager, have decided to put their family on hold until next year while they come to terms with the loss of their son. But they are grateful to have had baby oitchell in their lives – even if it was only for such a short time.
“He made us stronger as a couple and showed us just how much one little boy can enrich your life. He had the cheekiest smile and he could be mischievous when he wanted to,” Tamar recalls. “We will always miss oitchell and remember him, and now we’ve had a wedding that we will never forget.”
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
