Guests save couple's wedding day after stormy weather

After weeks of fantasic weather, Dan Stevens and his bride-to-be Kate Sharples were looking forward to their wedding in a beautiful Welsh village.
Kate and Dan after their wedding and, right, the wrecked marquee after the stormsKate and Dan after their wedding and, right, the wrecked marquee after the storms
Kate and Dan after their wedding and, right, the wrecked marquee after the storms

But just hours before the big day on Saturday torrential rains threw the plans into chaos as the violent storms devastated the marquee which was to be the venue for their nuptials.

The marquee had been set up with tables and chairs for all of the guests to celebrate the couple’s big day at their reception, but just hours before the wedding in Aberdovey the heatwave came to an abrupt end much to the dismay of Kate, whose parents Andrew and Vivien live in Ashfield Park Drive, Standish.

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But within hours the wedding was back on track and family, friends of the couple - who live in the village in Snowdonia and work for the Outward Bound Trust - and local villagers worked tirelessly to recreate the reception at the village hall and their big day was saved.

Des George, chairman of Neuadd Dyfi village hall, revealed that Dan and his two brothers, Matt and Dean, had been worried about the marquee withstanding the storm the night before the wedding they decided to sleep inside it so they could secure it if necessary. But during the early hours a big gust of wind blew it over and it was beyond saving.

Des said: “I got a call around 7am to ask if they could move everything to the village hall. A team of around 60 or 70 people got together – family, friends and people from the village – and transformed the village hall. They had to move everything.”

The furniture had been borrowed from the hall to use in the wedding marquee so it had to be transported back to the venue. They also had to wash and dry the tablecloths and chair covers. But by mid morning the catering team from Wigan-based Fur Clemt who had been hired to provide the meal at the reception by Kate and Dan, were hard at work cooking delicious canapés.

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Within hours the village hall was perfect for the occasion and the guests gathered there to witness the happy couple exchange their vows and celebrate in style with them. Dan, 34, said he and Kate who is 32, were so grateful for the help they’d received:

“People were amazing and I found it hard to say ‘thank you’ during my speech due to the emotion,” he said. “We were always confident the wedding would go ahead but we wondered where, when and how.”

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