The bride and groom who lost 35 cases of beer destined for their wedding on Saturday in an accident in Weston on Friday have expressed their gratitude to ever-generous Canberrans who have offered to donate a case or two for the happy event.
The bride, Hayley, is a Canberra nurse. She and her husband-to-be are due to be married on Saturday at the Yarralumla Woolshed.
Friday was a dramatic day all around for the families, with Hayley having to make a dash to Cooma to be with her ailing grandmother.
Her groom, Craig, and some mates were transporting beer in three utes on Friday morning when one of the vehicles lost its load on the Cotter Road, sending brew and broken glass across the road.
And, yes, it was the groomsman, who we'll call "Mark", who was behind the wheel of a ute near the intersection with Kirkpatrick Street.
Craig said the whole wedding party was extremely taken aback by the reaction of the community and people's offers to donate beer.
"We feel really bad. We haven't asked for it - but thank you," he said.
The witness to the incident said the groom, who was in another ute, was mortified.
She said people stopped their car to get out and help pick up the glass.
"The guys were really grateful for the help. There was a great community spirit out there," she said.
Traffic was stopped during the clean-up.
It's understood the ACT State Emergency Service also attended and a street sweeper was also sent to clean up the accident site.
When Craig and the others went to Dan Murphys at Woden to buy more beer, the store actually donated 10 cases of beer. Other strangers have also offered to donate beer and wine to the festivities.
Among them was Leo Low who donated six bottles of Disaster Bay wine and a case of beer, the disaster obviously a reference to Friday, with otherwise best wishes for their married life.
Hayley's sister Jess, who is married to Mark, said they couldn't believe how Friday had turned out.
"We told the boys, 'Just make it happen'," she said, about ensuring the beer got to the venue.
"Then someone rang and said, 'There's something on the news about the boys'. We looked online and We. Could.Not.Believe. It."
Plenty of readers are enjoying the story.
One wag on Facebook posted: "There has been accident at Cotter Road, we need pretzels. Repeat pretzels. I'm proceeding on foot".
