'It hasn't even been an hour': Elora rallies to find lost ring on Toronto couple's wedding day

A Toronto couple is thanking the community of Elora for springing into action to help them find a lost ring on their wedding day.

Adam Richardson and Tamar Silverbrook were married on Feb. 20, 2022, at the Elora Mill. After the ceremony, they went to take photos in nearby Victoria Park.

Adam Richardson and Tamar Silverbrook pose with their wedding party at Elora Mill (Supplied: Assaf Friedman Photography)

“We went outside, everybody was together, we grabbed snow, we were going to throw it up in the air,” Richardson said.

As he threw his handful of snow in the air, Richardson felt the wedding band he had just received slip off his finger.

“It hasn’t even been an hour and I’ve already lost this ring.”

The ring flies off Adam Richardson's finger during wedding photos (Supplied: Assaf Friedman Photography)

The moment was captured by their photographer, Assaf Friedman, as were the moments after, as the group searched for the ring in the snow.

“With the 20 people we covered at least 15 feet around, and we still couldn’t find it,” said Caely Penner, a ceremony specialist at the Elora Mill who was there with the couple. “And I’m just watching our poor bride leap through the snow, trying to find it.”

Tamar Silverbrook searches for her husband's wedding ring in the snow (Supplied: Assaf Friedman Photography)

After about half an hour, they became worried that someone could accidentally step on the ring and bury it further, so some of the wedding party went back to the Elora Mill, and a smaller group of searchers changed their strategy

“We were tracking down rakes and shovels, things like that, we were making phone calls to people that we knew might have a metal detector,” said Ethan Bleskie, also a ceremony specialist at the Elora Mill.

“We started searching by hand at first, just tearing up the area, that 15-foot circle grew to 20 and almost 25. It was torn up in here and we were still having no luck finding it.”

But as the search continued, people passing by noticed and tried to help.

Elske de Groot was walking through Victoria Park with family. When she heard what was happening, she posted a call for help on a community Facebook page.

“About half an hour later, I checked my phone again and there were so many responses on the community share page that I went, ‘whoa!’”

Adam Richardson and Tamar Silverbrook's wedding party looks for Richardson's missing ring (Supplied: Assaf Friedman Photography)

People were sharing the post, and there were also offers to come help with the search, or try to track down a metal detector.

But in the end, it was another person walking through the park with family who found the ring.

Bryan Poletto was on a walk with family and when he heard what was happening, he went home and got his metal detector and began searching for the couple.

“Within a few minutes we happened to find that ring for them,” Poletto said.

It was a happy ending to a search that had taken about three hours in total.

“They were just super happy, and relieved,” Poletto said.

“Where the ring was located was totally outside of our search area, so had we not had the metal detectors, there’s no way that we would have found the ring,” said Richardson.

Richardson and Silverbrook say they’re just relieved Tamar’s ring was not lost, as it was a family heirloom. Adam’s could be replaced, but they’re still glad his original ring was found.

“It’s still meaningful because it was part of the ceremony, so it just means that much more now that we have this whole story behind it,” says Richardson.

The couple is thanking all the searchers for their efforts.

“Family Day weekend, in the cold, your time, your energy, everything, your positivity, thank you,” said Silverbrook.

“The community is awesome, it’s special, they went out of their way for hours to do something for us,” Richardson said, adding the couple will be sharing the story for years to come.