The wet weather has upset long weekend plans for many, but few can say it has turned what is supposed to be the best day of their life upside down.
Rowena Willson was due to marry her partner, Daniel McCall, outdoors at her sister Madeline Hennessy’s property off Research Road in Nuriootpa on Saturday in front of 110 guests.
The couple lives in Walbundrie in New South Wales but decided on a Barossa Valley wedding as most of their family lives in South Australia and there’s plenty of accommodation nearby.
They had previously planned on marrying in January next year, but brought the wedding forward as Rowena will undergo treatment for ovarian cancer.
Marquees were ordered, as was a port-a-loo, months ago in anticipation of the sunny spring wedding but it appeared this week’s big wet had other ideas.
A panicked Rowena spent this morning calling possible alternative -indoor- venues to celebrate her special day and luckily managed to lock in Angaston Town Hall.
“Right now you can’t access the road here and my brother-in-law has helped three cars out of the water today, including four-wheel drives,” Rowena said.
“I can’t get into the paddock where we planned to have the wedding and the dam across the road is overflowing.
“I rang the Angaston hall in a panic this morning. They’ve got a function early Sunday so we’ll have to make sure it’s cleaned up for them.”
Meanwhile, the couple’s phones were ringing hot with guests wondering if the wedding was still on, while others had become stranded in NSW flooding on their way to the Barossa.
But while the turmoil is enough to turn even the most calm of brides-to-be into a full-scale ‘bridezilla’, Rowena said she was feeling grateful.
“You’ve got to laugh, because what else can you do. I was stressed about the minor details before but now this has happened that’s all gone out the window,” she said.
“All of our guests are bushies who don’t mind, they’ve joked about wearing their gumboots along and we’ve made sure we’ve got plenty of alcohol, we’ve stocked port – that’s all that matters.”
Plans for a recovery day had included the Marrabel Rodeo, but those have also been cancelled along with the popular long weekend event.
Luckily Rowena has a well-deserved massage booked for the morning after.
Erica Visser
Erica has extensive experience in covering regional issues including politics, education, health and mining.
Erica has extensive experience in covering regional issues including politics, education, health and mining.
