Picture perfect: Movie star Tom Hanks takes photo with bride and her wedding party
In true Mister Rogers’ fashion, Tom Hanks continues to do kind things.
Hanks, who embraced the role of Fred Rogers in the film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” hasn’t stopped being like the late Pittsburgh icon.
Last week, he took time out from shooting his latest film to wave to a young child. On Saturday, the Academy award-winning actor approached a bride to get a photo with her and members of her wedding party.
The bride, Grace Gwaltney, was in the lobby of the Fairmont Pittsburgh, Downtown, about to get into the limousine. Hanks approached her. He asked if he could get a photo with her and her bridesmaids.
“We were in Downtown Pittsburgh, and this guy comes up to us and wants a photo,” said Rachel Rowland of Rachel Rowland Photography, who was shooting the wedding and reception. “At first we were like, who is this? But when he started talking again and I recognized the Tom Hanks voice.”
Rowland said Hanks’ wife, Rita Wilson, was also there. She got in a photo as well. Rowland, who has shot more than 400 weddings, said she could feel the love between Hanks and Wilson. She added that Gwaltney was the perfect bride for this to happen to because she is sweet and kind.
Her husband-to-be Luke was waiting at the Calvary United Methodist Church on the North Side. When she arrived, she told him about meeting Hanks. The couple, North Allegheny High School graduates, chose not to do a “first look” but did a back-to-back prayer.
“Grace told him, ‘I just met Tom Hanks and I was crying and now I am praying with you and I am crying,’ ” Rowland said.
Hanks is in Pittsburgh shooting the movie “A Man Called Otto” in Ambridge, which is set to open on Dec. 25. A remake of a 2015 Swedish film, it’s described by imdb.com as “a cranky retired man strikes up an unlikely friendship with his boisterous new neighbors.”
“We need more news like this,” Rowland said. “These stories make people smile. You could tell he loves Rita and she loves him. They made Grace and all of us so happy. We all started screaming once we realized it was really him. I always told myself if I met him I would tell him how important he is and how poignant his movies are and when I met him, I just screamed.”
Hanks told them to get the bridesmaids out of the limo. Rowland took a few photos. As quickly as Hanks showed up, he left.
The reception was at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland.
In September 2021, Rowland photographed rapper Jack Harlow with a wedding party at the Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown.
“Tom Hanks is such a gem and a treasure,” said Rowland, of West View. “Candid shots are the ones people remember … the excitement the hugs, the tears. The photos you feel.”
Like the one with Tom Hanks.
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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