A bride and groom became trapped inside a hotel lift for two hours on their wedding day – causing them to miss their own reception. Victoria and Panav Jha were heading to the sixteenth floor to join their expectant wedding guests when the day took an unexpected turn.
Following the wedding ceremony, the North Carolina bride and groom were heading to the reception in the Grand Bohemian hotel when they found themselves stuck between the first and second floors.
The lift came to an unexpected halt leaving the newly married couple, the bride’s sister, and three other wedding guests trapped inside.
After being inside for a long two hours, the Charlotte Fire Department came to their rescue and eventually broke the wedding guests free but the party had ended by then.
Fire officers used a winch to hoist the lift up a few floors so they could be freed.
From there the guests were put in harnesses and climbed through an opening at the top of the elevator to safety.
Nobody was hurt in the incident.
The groom told WJZY: “When it first happened, I thought it had stopped for a few seconds. It’ll restart. And then we noticed that the door was just slightly ajar.”
In a separate interview, he told CNN: “We got up maybe five feet, and then boom, the doors kind of stuck.
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“Then the doors started to open, so I could see the concrete wall right in front of me, and I could see the concrete wall behind me, and I was like, that’s not normal.”
The bride remained positive and explained that she was thankful to be trapped with her new husband and wedding guests.
She said: “Elevator had a glitch and here we are. It had to happen with the groom and I both stuck in the elevator. So, at least it wasn’t just one of us.”
The bride’s sister was pulled out first, and Charlotte Fire said she then turned around and said “please get my sister out next, she’s the one in the wedding dress.”
After the recuse, the couple posed with members of the fire team.
The department posted a the photo on Facebook, writing: “First, congratulations to Mr and Mrs Jha on your wedding day. Although Charlotte Fire wasn’t formally invited, we weren’t exactly wedding crashers either.”
Victoria said she was upset she hadn’t been able to say goodbye to her guests.
She said: “We were not able to celebrate or do the last kisses or goodbyes. And that’s what put the damper on everything. That’s how the wedding night had to end.”
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