Hotel prevents a wedding washout

Buy photos » Gareth Richards and Fiona Campbell have plenty to smile about after flooding did not ruin their special day. Picture by Chris Brown.

THE QUICK-thinking actions of staff at Evesham's newest hotel helped save a happy couple's dream day from turning into a disaster.

Fiona Campbell and Gareth Richards were set to get married at the Northwick Hotel on Saturday (December 1) but their plans were washed out at the last minute when floods hit the Waterside venue.

After finding out with less than a week to go they would be unable to hold their special day at the Northwick, Fiona's mum Sallie rang The Wood Norton to see if they could hold the reception there.

Despite the short notice the historic hotel, which has recently undergone a £4million refurbishment, said yes and a potential catastrophe was averted.

With the reception now taken care of the bride and groom still had to find a place where they could legally marry. Luckily Evesham Registry Office were again able to help out at the last minute and after telling family and friends of the changes and managing to find hotels in the town and surrounding area for everyone the couple's perfect day was complete.

Fiona, who now lives in Guildford with Gareth but grew up in Evesham, said they had managed to stay surprisingly calm.

"I've been through the floods twice before as my parents lived in the centre of Evesham, but I couldn't help thinking this wasn't supposed to happen on our day," she said.

"We didn't really panic because there was nothing we could do about it and we instantly fell in love with the Wood Norton.

"The staff were excellent and made sure everything went as smoothly as possible."

Oliver Cooke, general manager of The Wood Norton, said: "It’s been a whirlwind week for us. We were just making the final arrangements to our official opening launch party, when the call came in from Sallie. We’re really pleased everything worked out."

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