Louise and Paul Woolner at their wedding, the couple have criticised a wedding car hire firm after a vehicle failed to turn up for their wedding.
Bride in frantic dash to church after Rolls Royce breakdown
BY KEN McERLAIN
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
12:02 PM
STOWMARKET: A newly-wed woman today claimed her special day had been ruined after the car she hired to take her to the church failed to turn up.
Louise Woolner was forced to rush out into the street and beg neighbours to take her and three other guests to her wedding at a church in the Cambridgeshire village of Waterbeach.
The 26-year-old had booked a Rolls Royce with Stowmarket-based Artisto Classic Wedding Cars but was left stranded when the vehicle broke down.
She claims no one called to warn her although the firm disputes this.
Mrs Woolner, who lives in Cambridgeshire, said: “I still feel disgusted about what happened.
“I decided there was nothing else for it but to run into the street in my wedding gear and shout whether anyone could give me a lift.
“One man who was trimming his hedge kindly offered and took me, my sister, my cousin and a friend to the church in the nick of time.”
But Mrs Woolner said her big day, on July 24, had been ruined by the experience.
She added: “It just wasn’t the same. We planned to travel there in style drinking champagne and turning up for photos.
“Instead we turned up in a stranger’s car completely agitated.”
Sue Beckett, the joint owner of Aristo Classic Cars, said the firm had paid Mrs Woolner a full refund plus 20 per cent.
She added: “This was freak incident. In ten years in business this has never happened before.
“If a 50-year-old Rolls Royce breaks down 75 miles from our base it is impossible to get spare parts out in time.
“But we called the woman as soon as the car broke down, as did the AA and then left messages at her wedding reception.
“We sympathise with the woman but I feel we did everything we could.”
n Have you suffered a disaster on your wedding day? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstar letters@eveningstar.co.uk
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5 comments
The same thing happened to me 16 years ago! I was 40 minutes late for my wedding and had to turn up in my dads decorators van....You WILL laugh about this one day xx
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hadgy
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Agree with Mr M - not exactly world shattering news and not worthy of an article in the Star.
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Corporal Punishment
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
I agree with Mr M - the Evening Star should be ashamed of itself - at a time when small businesses need all the help they can get they make a headline out of an unfortunate event and then name the company involved implying that they are basically unrealiable. Ridiculous indeed.
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Sam
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Sorry to hear about Louise's experience - but it did remind me of a 'Frost Report' years ago which asked its contributors to come up with The World's Greatest All-Purpose Headline. The winner was: 'Unfrocked Bishop in Midnight Mercy Taxi Dash to Palace'.
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Percy Flage
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
There are terrible things going on in the world and this silly woman has got nothing better to do than run to a newspaper to complain about her wedding car breaking down. These things happen. She got there didn't she? And of course the company called her it just doesn't make sense for them not to have. Ridiculous.
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Mr M
Wednesday, August 25, 2010