A newlywed couple’s marriage got off to a “rough start” on Saturday evening after police rescued them from rising floodwaters that left their wedding party trapped along a New Jersey roadway.
According to NorthJersey.com, torrential downpours caused flash floods across northern New Jersey over the weekend, which closed down roads and left many stranded (in one case, the floods caused severe damage to vehicles at a car dealership when they were swept away by the raging waters). But when the floods trapped a wedding party at a local intersection in Bogota, officers from the Bogota Police Department arrived on the scene with a Humvee to get the couple and their friends to safety.
Footage posted to the department’s Facebook page shows the newly-married bride — still in her wedding gown — sticking out of her sunroof as floodwaters rose high enough to cover her vehicle’s license plate. While standing on the back of the Humvee, an officer then climbed over to the bride and took her by the hand to gently guide her into the rescue vehicle.
“Unfortunately due to the quickly rising flood waters, this bride, her new husband and wedding party friends, got a rough start on things,” the police department wrote in the caption of the video. “The fortunate thing, is we were able to help them through their first rough patch.”
The department added: “Obviously their day has not gone as planned, so let’s congratulate them on their wedding and give them best wishes for a lifetime of love and adventure, starting now!”
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Many Facebook users praised the police department in the comments section of the video, and some also found a silver lining for the couple, despite the unexpected turn of events.
“Something old, something new, something borrowed… Well I guess she got the (Bogota) Blue checked off!” wrote Bonnie Kamochi. “Congratulations!”
And while showers may be seen as an unwelcome surprise to some on their wedding day, sometimes rainfall is considered good luck, as it symbolizes cleansing.
“Rain on your wedding day is supposed to mean you will have a happy marriage!” wrote Maureen O’Dowd on Facebook. “May you have many years of total bliss!”
Sgt. Geoffrey Cole of the Bogota Police Department told NorthJersey.com that the couple seemed to be in “decent spirits” during the rescue.
“We definitely get people stuck often, but it was her wedding day, so it was a dynamic situation,” he said. “Nobody was worse for the wear, besides the vehicle.”
