A bride hitchhiked to church after her wedding car broke down.
Shenice Beirne, 28, was stranded in her wedding dress on a country road when the old Ford car that was taking her to church “just stopped working.”
Shenice and her sister, Siobahn Ellis, stayed behind when they tried to take an elevator to the church – when amused drivers drove past them for about 15 minutes.
Fortunately, Shenice, Siobahn, and their mother Gloria were eventually saved when passing tourists Matt and Michelle Moore stopped to help – and drove them to church for the half hour.
This meant that 28-year-old Shenice from Gloucester could finally walk down the aisle and marry her husband Sean on August 7th – albeit an hour later than planned.
Shenice Beirne and her sister Siobahn Ellis
(Image: Dale Hodgetts / SWNS)
Shenice, a dance teacher, said, “It was the most unimaginable thing that could happen.
“We got ready at the venue in Upton-on-Severn that morning and then got into the beautiful old-timer Ford to drive to church in Gloucester.
“Because we were sitting in a classic vintage car, we decided to take the back roads instead of going down the autobahn.
“But not long after we left we heard this noise from the car and it just broke. It just stopped working.
“I couldn’t believe it. My sister was actually joking when we walked in, ‘What if it collapses?’ We all just looked at each other when it happened.
“The driver tried and tried to get it going, but nothing happened.
“The bridesmaids’ car was behind us, so I told them to go to church, drop the bridesmaids off, and then circle back to pick us up.
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“But the church was still about half an hour away, so that would have taken a good hour.”
Fortunately, Shenice kept her head clear – and told her sister and her maid of honor Siobahn to get out and hitchhike.
She said, “First I borrowed the chauffeur’s phone and tried calling a few taxi companies – but they were of absolutely no help. I don’t think they believed it was my wedding day.
“So I told my sister that we would have to get out and hitchhike.
“Cars drove by for about 10-15 minutes before someone finally decided to stop and ask if we were okay and we needed help.”
The heroes of the hour were Matt and Michelle Moore, both 44, who had just driven from Dudley, West Mids, to Gloucester for the day.
Shenice, Siobahn and Gloria squeezed into the back of the couple’s Mercedes C-200 – and arrived about an hour late for the wedding at St. Barnabas Church in Gloucester.
Shenice added, “Luckily the bridesmaids got there and explained to my husband and everyone else what was going on.
“Sean and I are both pretty laid back people, so he saw the fun side of the fact that his bride had to hitchhike to church.
“I’m just glad I managed to stay calm and not be stressed or that would have ruined the rest of my day.”
Shenice Beirne and her husband Sean Beirne
(Image: Dale Hodgetts / SWNS)
Shenice even insisted that the wedding photographer photograph her, Siobahn, and Gloria with Matt and Michelle as a reminder of the hilarious mishap.
And although they were concerned about how they would get back to Upton-on-Severn for the wedding reception, their trusty vintage wedding car showed up about ten minutes after the wedding after the driver managed to fix it.
Now Shenice and Sean, also 28, are getting ready to fly to Lanzarote for their honeymoon on Thursday – and she hopes it will be easier to get there than to her wedding.
Matt and Michelle said they were just “happy to help”.
Matt, who works as a welder manufacturer, said, “You don’t see something like this every Saturday morning.
“We just did what we could to help. I was surprised when she said that cars had passed them for about 15 minutes.
“When we got to church, everyone was there, shouting and cheering and singing our praises. But we only took her with us.
“We got married five years ago and you would like to hope that someone in this situation will stop and help.”
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