CYCLONE DEBBIE COULDN’T RUIN OUR WEDDING
Choppers, C police escorts, stranded flowers, one old ute and no wedding cake? No worries!
Rarely does a wedding go off without a couple of hiccup hiccups – but for Gold Coast locals Tys Tyson Kolkka and Carissa Fowke, no not even a damaging cyclonel and raging floodwaters were going to roadblock their special day.
“I thought, ‘Come hell or high water, this wedding will go ahead!’” groom Tyson, 25, says.
After months of planning their dream wedding, the besotted Queensland couple were set to pledge their love on the north NSW coast.
Like most brides, Carissa, 24, thought she had every detail covered – but they could never have imagined flooded roads would leave them stuck in the middle of nowhere!
“Once we realised the weather forecast was grim I thought, ‘Oh no – please don’t let this be my bridezilla moment!’ I’d been so calm up until then,” Carissa, a kindy t teacher, tells Woman’s Day.
As floodwaters continued inued to r rise, so did the couple’s’s blood p pressure, with the overflowing Tweed River forcing the he closure o of the only bridge that gives a access to their wedding ng v venue, the popular Osteriateria i in Kingscliff.
“We couldn’t delay t the wedding because t the venue was already b booked for the next d day,” says Tyson, who w works as a structural e engineer on the Gold Coast. “So we had some very anxious hours, but I figured we’d get there one way or another!”
However, it took ingenuity, determination and a bit of luck to ensure everyone got to the wedding venue on time.
“It was late Friday afternoon and we were running out of options when my chief bridesmaid Sarah Nash said, ‘Let’s get a chopper!’ I thought, ‘Why not!’ I felt like I was in a Hollywood movie, not my wedding!” laughs Carissa.
One hurdle overcome, she now faced the next challenge – how to get her group from the helicopter to the resort?
“We landed in the middle of a paddock with our bags and knew we had to hitch a ride!” explains Carissa. “A complete stranger in an old ute stopped. One of my bridesmaids took his licence plate number in case he turned out to be a madman! Thankfully, Jock was an absolute gentleman and drove us all right to the door!”
By Saturday morning, Tyson – along with his mum and dad Janelle and Noel, sister Jade and her wedding photographer husband Alister, their kids, best man and three groomsmen – were all at the state border in the hope the water level would soon subside and the roads reopen.
“We went to the local Macca’s and one of my groomsmen spotted a police officer in the queue getting his brekkie,” reveals Tyson.
“He said to him, ‘Mate, you gotta help us – my buddy over there is getting hitched today in Kingscliff and we’re stranded! Any chance you can help? help?’ “He said, ‘Sure, let’s go.’ We got a full police escort to the
other side – I almost kissed the bloke!”
Their good fortune didn’t end there. With boxes of fresh flowersowers unable to be delivered, locall florist Posy Lane Co cheekily ambushedushed a large truck with a friendly driver to deliver the blooms to the door.
With the good news the groom room and his entourage were on the right side of the river, Carissa’ssa’s thoughts turned to her familyly – and the precious cargo thatat remained back home with her mum Tarnya and dad Chris..
“They had my dress!” Carissa rissa tells. Despite her mum’s fear of flying, they boardedd a helicopter to ensure they y got to the resort on time.
With just minutes to spare,e, Carissa threw on her dress and made her way up the aisle too meet her Prince Charming.
“The sun came out and I don’t think there was a dry eye among mong us, especially knowing all 75 5 guests made it safely – a true blessing,”ing,” says Carissa. “We’re so grateful to everyone who chipped in – the mateship and generosity fromom strangers will never be forgotten.
“With so many heartbreaking stories to come out of the cyclone and the terrible floods, I hope ope our story brings a few much needed smiles.”