Australian couple say 'I do', come hell or high water
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Newlyweds Kate Fotheringham and Wayne Bell in Wingham, New South Wales. Behind them is a bridge submerged in floodwaters, which made it impossible for the bride and her family to drive from their home to Wingham for the wedding on Saturday. Instead, the bride and her family were transported by helicopter after she sought help on social media.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SYDNEY • Ms Kate Fotheringham's wedding plans did not include a natural disaster, but that was not going to stop the ceremony in a small town in New South Wales.
She woke on Saturday to find herself trapped at her parents' home by rising floodwaters in the town of Taree. The deluge had submerged the only bridge to the neighbouring town of Wingham, where she was due to marry her fiance Wayne Bell at 3pm that day.
"It took three months to plan the wedding, 12 hours for it go to hell and six hours for it come together again," Ms Fotheringham told The Guardian. "I did have a bit of a meltdown - a bit of a cry - and said this just wasn't funny anymore. This just sucks. Then I think I also said: 'We're just going to have to deal with this.' Today's the day."
The couple set about planning a complex logistical operation to get the bride and her family to the venue on time. Ms Fotheringham called for help on social media. Soon, a local TV station rang to offer a rescue, and not long after, confirmation came that a helicopter was on its way from Port Macquarie.
"Wayne rang and said, 'You have to be ready in 50 minutes,'" The Guardian quoted Ms Fotheringham as saying. The helicopter dropped them off in Wingham.
Some of the people whose services they had engaged for the wedding were stranded elsewhere. But they managed to find a caterer and a hairdresser in Wingham. And most of their friends and family were already in town.
Afterwards, Ms Fotheringham said the reception was "massive" and, with the guests trapped in town with nowhere to go, it continued on until Sunday.
"Explaining it, it doesn't even sound real," she said. "It's like, how is this possible? You can't make it up. I can't believe that we pulled it off."
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