On what should have been the happiest day of their lives a newly married couple ended up missing their own wedding reception after the bride was hospitalised during the wedding photos.
Blake and Mary Greenwell had just tied the knot an hour ago and were posing for a series of playful photos when disaster struck.
5ft 3in bride Mary decided to give her 6ft 1in husband Blake a piggyback ride, only to end up screaming in pain as her ankle snapped under her other half's weight.
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The new bride had to be rushed to hospital where doctors confirmed that she'd broken her ankle, meaning she had to spend her wedding night in the ER while their 150 guests partied on at the reception without her.
They'd forked over $7,000 (£5,500) for the wedding, which had been held in 2019, and while they missed most of it, they're hoping that one day they'll be able to redo their reception.
27-year-old Mary from Kentucky, US, explained how she ended up breaking her ankle on her wedding day.
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She said: "When we arrived at the venue, the DJ was still setting up and we decided to kill a bit of time by taking some silly pictures outside in a field.
"For one of them Blake leaned over my back and I was very proud I was holding him up - it was a funny picture.
"His brother held onto his feet trying to keep us steady but that actually made us fall forward with my feet staying pointed on the ground.
"Pretty immediately I knew my ankle was broken, it was like it happened in slow motion.
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"I didn't hear a snap but I could feel a burn in my left ankle. I remember saying 'my ankle is broken!' and I don't think people thought I was serious at first but then they saw how swollen it was."
Poor Mary needed surgery and her wedding reception only carried on the party for about another hour as it would have been a bit strange to dance the night away while the happy couple were in hospital.
Blake admitted that he still feels bad about the whole thing, saying: "Obviously Mary was very upset and I was very worried about my new wife. I'd only had her for about an hour at this point.
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"I'm okay talking about it now but it still hurts me. It's more the fact that me falling is what broke her ankle. I kind of blame myself.
"As far as we know, the guests carried on. We had all this food and drinks and the DJ was set up so I think the guests had a good time but it was very short.
"I don't think it lasted longer than an hour. I think it just turned into dinner with a bit of music in the background."
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Fortunately for the couple, Mary is now able to look back on the whole thing and laugh - even if she does now have to put up with a dozen screws and a metal plate in her leg.
The bride admitted she 'definitely got some funny looks sitting in the ER in my wedding dress', but she was more upset about missing the rest of the wedding she'd spent so much time and money planning, however, has managed to see the funny side since then.
Blake did have to scramble and rearrange the couple's surprise honeymoon to Disney World.
Luckily, he was able to change the dates and get them going six weeks later, by which time Mary was in a mobility scooter.
Topics: Weddings, US News, Sex and Relationships
Joe Harker