Despite their flight being canceled due to wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes, a British couple, Rob Heasman and Kirstie Galvin, managed to tie the knot after overcoming incredible odds. The couple had been planning their wedding for two and a half years and had packed their wedding attire to catch a flight to Rhodes from Luton airport. However, the flight was canceled at the last minute due to the unfolding wildfires crisis.
Devastated by the news, Kirstie burst into tears, but the family rallied to salvage the situation. After numerous phone calls, they secured a new easyJet flight 24 hours later, as the airline decided to resume flights to Rhodes. The wedding party arrived on the Greek island with wildfires still raging in some areas.
Despite the challenging circumstances, Rob, a Tiler and Kirstie, a Marketing Executive had their dream wedding at the ancient Kallithea Springs, with 50 family and friends in attendance. They exchanged vows while brave firefighters fought flames just 20 miles away in Gennadi.
“It’s a miracle we got this far. We feared we would have to cancel the wedding,” expressed thrilled Rob.
“We never gave up hope and after a brief panic we all pulled together and achieved the impossible,” he added.
The couple, who have two children, Nuala, six, and Brielle, two, refused to reschedule the wedding and were determined to make it happen. Kirstie’s mother, Mandy Galvin, expressed gratitude to a helpful easyJet customer agent who ensured their new flight arrangements.
“After numerous phone calls we got hold of a lovely lady at easyJet who vowed to do all she could to help. Four hours later she rang to say we’d be on a new flight the next day,” said Kirstie’s mum, Mandy Galvin.
Kirstie added: “Of all the islands in the world, of all the dates, we couldn’t believe our luck when the wildfires erupted.”
“We are really pleased our customer agent secured alternative arrangements for them all so their big day could go ahead as planned,” an easyJet spokesman said.
However, not all couples were as fortunate. Tarnya Kemp and Colin Saunders had to cancel their wedding in Lindos due to wildfires, despite spending £32,000 on the event. Their apartments were evacuated, and they had to return home after staying in a basketball hall with their guests.
“We are safe and I’m grateful for that. We can’t get married until I get our money back. I don’t know when that will be,” Tarnya said.
Greece is facing a record-breaking heatwave that has made the shrubland extremely dry, leading to wildfires spreading rapidly. July is predicted to become the world’s warmest month on record, with temperatures described as “unprecedented” and the hottest in 100,000 years, according to scientists.
