Here’s a Tower Hill Barns wedding story with a happy ending that has made the national headlines this week. It’s all down to newlyweds Dave and Bethany Mouatt and their unstoppable bridal party who were forced to hitchhike their way to our North Wales venue. (By the way, if you’re currently in the middle of booking your wedding transport for your big day, be prepared for a news item that will get your heart racing!)
Unusual and imaginative touches can be a great way to make any wedding memorable, and at Tower Hill Barns we welcome creative entrances, but when it comes to impromptu transport solutions Bethany and Dave Mouatt’s recent experience definitely puts the icing on the cake! A broken down wedding car wasn’t on the planning list, but that was exactly the scenario faced by the couple’s bridesmaids Sarah Worthington, Shelley Wragg, Emily Pearson, and the bride’s mother, Barbara Unwin as they ground to a halt on the busy A483 dual carriageway in Wrexham not long after leaving home at Cefn-Y-Bedd.
The faulty wedding car had departed just a few minutes ahead of the bridal car, and the first Bethany knew about the unwelcome glitch in proceedings was when on route she noticed the stranded entourage waiting by the side of the road all dressed up and ready to go but without transport. A desperate call had been made for another car to turn up and rescue them, but they were in high demand for nearby Chester Racecourse that day, so the replacement was expected to take at least another half an hour.
Bride-to-be Bethany had to spend her entire journey wondering if her mother and bridesmaids would get there at all, and for a while it was looking unlikely, but fortunately, the quick thinking ladies decided the show must go on. They took the initiative themselves and began thumbing a lift to the oncoming traffic. Just imagine the scene: four glamorous hitchhikers on the busy dual carriageway in a last ditch attempt to get to Tower Hill Barns in time for the ceremony.
It worked! The day was saved when a very kind and helpful passing driver slowed down to pick up all four of the women and drop them safely at Tower Hill Barns just in the nick of time. The bride’s father managed to reward the driver’s kindness quickly with a bottle of bubbly before she drove away, identified only as Bethan.
After the ceremony grateful newlywed Bethany was so eager to find the mysterious ‘Bethan’ to thank her personally that she turned to social media for help. Posting her quest online she nicknamed the driver, ‘the wedding saviour,’ with a plea that gained tens of thousands of shares. By then the unfolding plot had caught the attention of the national press.
Eventually there was another happy fairytale ending to report. The driver was found and named as Bethan Young, and although there was no glass slipper, nearly as excitingly, it turned out that Bethan herself had been on a trip to pick up her own engagement ring on that day. What’s more, she knew exactly where to head for the wedding as her partner was one of the fantastic team of joiners who worked on the Tower Hill Barns oak and sandstone renovations, finished earlier this year.
It’s been a massive talking point for us all at Tower Hill Barns, and we think it will go down in Tower Hill legend for years to come. A quote from our very own Sally says it all. “We’re delighted that Dave and Bethany’s special day was saved with such an amazing and magical twist. Big thanks to Bethan and her true act of kindness. It’s memorable moments like this that we love being part of.”