Typically, when one thinks of wedding crashers, they envision unwelcome people who are trying to get free food and drinks.
Even though these pests can be somewhat unruly, they pale in comparison to the ‘100-year floodwaters’ that recently destroyed a wedding in New South Wales.
Mother Nature decided to throw a major wrench in Kate Fotheringham and Wayne Bell’s plans, who were scheduled to tie the knot on a Saturday in March of this year.
She RSVP’d with an enormous downpour the night before the wedding, leaving most of the town of Wingham, where Fotheringham’s family resides, at least partially underwater.
It appeared as though the wedding would have to be rescheduled because the single bridge between Fotheringham’s house and the wedding location was inaccessible and the bride and groom were stuck on different sides of the chasm.
Amazingly, nevertheless, in spite of the rainy conditions, the committed couple managed to get married on the scheduled day.
Fotheringham told The Guardian, ‘It took three months to plan the wedding, 12 hours for it to go to hell, and six hours for it to come together again.’
‘I knew it was going to rain and that I was wearing gumboots, but I had no idea how I was going to handle a natural disaster and a flood that only happens once every hundred years.’
The bride and her family were able to be transported across the high waters by a local TV station using a helicopter that the pair secured after some frantic social media posting.
After less than an hour, Fotheringham, her team, and her bridal gown were securely transported; yet, obstacles remained to be surmounted upon their arrival at the destination.
Luckily, the majority of the attendees had gathered close to the groom. Sadly, the storm kept the caterer, cosmetic artists, and wedding vocalist from working.
Those bases were serendipitously covered, thanks to a reversal of events when a caterer and hairdresser scheduled for weddings over the bridge ended up trapped in town.
With just fifteen minutes to spare, the couple’s official wedding took place. With nowhere to go, the reception extended into the following day, becoming something of a marathon celebration.
The new Mrs. Bell acknowledges that the circumstances were almost unbelievable, but she gives her family’s resources credit for turning what could have been a catastrophe into a victory.
‘We managed to pull it off, it’s unbelievable,’ she said to The Guardian. ‘I have the most amazing family. We can handle a challenge—or ten. We don’t back down from a hard situation.
Leave a Reply