When Kate Fotheringham promised her husband-to-be that she wouldn’t be late for the wedding ceremony, she wasn’t sure how her wedding day would turn out.
Bridge swept away
Last Saturday, Kate woke up in a nightmare when it became apparent that she could not leave her parental home in the Australian state of New South Wales. The house, in the town of Wingham, was cut off from the outside world by the floods that ravaged Australia. Kate tells that The Guardian.
She was due to marry her fiancé, Wayne, at 3 p.m. that day. The only way to where the wedding was to take place was over a bridge, which was submerged by the floods.
Wonderful
“It took three months to plan the wedding,” Kate tells the British newspaper. “Then the whole plan fell completely into the water in twelve hours, only to miraculously get it right in the next six hours.”
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The Australian, who grew up in the countryside, had already accepted that it would rain on her wedding day. “But I didn’t know how to deal with this natural disaster.”
‘Today is the day’
“For a moment I collapsed, grumbled about the situation and the tears came,” admits Kate. “But then I thought, let’s just make the most of it. Today is the day.”
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The couple decided to do everything in their power to get Kate from her parental home to the wedding location. Her fiancé suggested asking someone in a boat to take her to Wingham, but that proved too risky because of the fast-flowing water.
Helicopter flight
The only remaining option: a helicopter flight. After a call on social media, a local television station responded. If they were allowed to film the wedding, they were willing to bear the costs of the helicopter rental:
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And so it happened. Less than an hour later, Kate was picked up by a helicopter that flew her to Wingham. The three-mile flight took only a few minutes.
Caterer and make-up artist unable to attend
Yet not all of the future couple’s problems had been resolved at that time. Because the caterer and the make-up artists were also stuck in another place due to the floods. The singer of the band who was to perform was prevented by a car accident.
The couple came into contact with a caterer in Wingham who should have been at another wedding, but had nowhere to turn because of the floods. A local hairdresser was in the same boat and decided to come to the aid of Kate.
15 minutes late
Kate’s grandmother offered her house and soon there was a coming and going of women. In the end, Kate showed up only 15 minutes late at the wedding venue. Most of the wedding guests were in attendance, as they had already spent the night in Wingham the night before.
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‘You can’t come up with it any crazier’
“Because no one could go either way, the party went on well into the night,” says Kate. “When I tell the story, it’s like it didn’t really happen. How is this possible? You can’t make it up any crazier. I still can’t believe we did it.”
“My family is fantastic,” concludes newly married Kate. “We don’t shrink back when the going gets tough. We can handle a challenge, apparently even a massive flood.”
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Persistent downpours
Over the past three days, Australia has been plagued by persistent downpours, causing rivers in New South Wales to overflow. The floods have caused massive damage and emergency services in the area have already had to carry out some 850 rescues.
Today, Australian authorities announced that they would have to evacuate thousands more because the storms will not abate.
“Unfortunately, weather conditions have deteriorated last night and will only get worse in the coming days. Many communities will be faced with increasing torrential rains,” said New South Wales Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian.
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