A bride-to-be has spoken out after disaster almost struck on her dream wedding day after one of her bridesmaids forgot to pack her dress.
Gemma O’Shea (nee McDonald), a charity manager from Gateshead was ready for her big day with now support worker husband Michael in Paphos, Cyprus when proceedings came crashing to a halt.
One of the bridesmaids, Lauren Fernandes, a social worker from Sheffield, forgot to pack her bridesmaid dress before she boarded her TUI flight from Newcastle Airport to Larnaca.
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Bride Gemma said: “Lauren said she started to get a paranoid feeling on the flight that she may have forgotten the dress, but she only knew this was definitely the case when she unpacked in the hotel room around midnight.
“Michael and I are a very laid-back couple, however, I'd put so much effort into planning the wedding and finding a bridesmaid dress that all four of my bridesmaid's loved - so it's safe to say I was disappointed.
“As soon as Lauren realised she didn't have the dress, she started to look to order a replacement online, however it was out of stock in every size!”
Realising her mistake, Lauren has blamed her forgetfulness on "baby-brain" after giving birth to her daughter Alice three months ago.
Rushing to action, Gemma’s wedding planner appealed to a TUI staff Facebook group to see if any crew members flying in could save the day and deliver the dress.
Luckily, TUI Cabin Crew Regional Manager Sue Peak noticed the callout and fought a race against time to get the dress on a flight that was due to depart from the airport in a matter of hours.
Once on board, the dress was treated as special cargo and made its way to Gemma by courier who drove the dress directly to the resort in time for Gemma’s wedding.
Following the ordeal, Gemma has thanked the airline and those involved who helped her big day go ahead with no hitches.
She said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to each and every one of them and a massive thank you to TUI and their staff who went above and beyond to make sure I had the perfect wedding day I had planned.
“When the dress arrived, I felt like a weight lifted and I could start to enjoy my holiday without the worry always being at the back of my mind. Because TUI have been so amazing, we're now looking to book our honeymoon with them.”
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After she helped saved the day, TUI Cabin Crew Regional Manager Sue Peak has congratulated the happy couple on their marriage.
She said: “We know how incredible our TUI staff are and this heart-warming operation is testament to that.
"Everyone worked together as it involved a lot of co-ordination, from getting the dress to Newcastle Airport, storing it in the cockpit of the TUI aircraft for the journey, passing it on to our ground staff at Cyprus and having it personally delivered to the bride’s resort.
"We are so happy to have been a part of this magical day, and we’d like to congratulate the bride and groom on their marriage.”
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