Wedding party in the drink
2010-03-14 19:42
Celinda Groenewald, Rapport
Johannesburg - Every bride-to-be worries about the possibility of rain spoiling her big day.
However, newlyweds Hoffman and Marli van der Walt never imagined they'd end up in a dam while a wedding photo was being taken.
After the wedding ceremony last week at the Dragon Peaks resort near Winterton, the newlyweds wanted to have a group photo taken with all their guests. A wooden deck with the majestic Drakensberg in the background seemed the perfect setting for the picture.
Everyone was shuffling around, getting into place for the photo, when there was an ominous creaking sound under their feet.
"There was even some joking about who was so big that they were making the deck creak, when the deck groaned again," said Alet van der Walt, the groom's sister.
"The next moment the wooden struts decided they'd had enough and broke right behind where the bride and groom were standing," Alet sai.
Nearly all the guests, "except for a handful who were clinging to the wooden railing like monkeys", landed in the water with a yelp.
Sank with wheelchair
At least Hubert Wentzel, the bride's brother and also the photographer, was able to take a photo of the group as well as the mishap before he decided to jump in and help with the rescue effort.
The bride's mother, Hester Wentzel, sank wheelchair and all and had to be rescued quickly.
All the quests, ranging from an 11-month-old baby, to the bride's 88-year-old grandmother, were helped from the water by bystanders.
Only one guest, Christo van der Walt, was injured when a large wooden splinter stuck in his thigh.
A few of the younger guests helped to retrieve floating shoes, handbags and even a swanky hat from the dam.
There's a sign that states the dam is up to 4m deep, but it was much shallower under the deck and only a handful of people were completely submerged.
Continue
Once they were back on dry land, the newlyweds simply called the photographer and asked him to continue with the photo session.
Hoffmann's two sisters, Alet van der Walt and Beppie van der Merwe, cleaned their new sister-in-law's soaked and muddied train with a fire hose.
Luckily the dip in the dam didn't put the proverbial wet blanket over the wedding feast.
The newlyweds could not be reached for comment, since they are currently enjoying a well-deserved honeymoon in - mostly dry - Namibia.