Canadian newlyweds get stuck on top of a mountain on their wedding night – WFTV

“We had this planned for almost a year,” said Jaclyn Locking McConnell CTV News. “We’ll ride the gondola up, take some sunset photos, and then go back to the campsite and take some campfire photos.”

But when the couple returned to the gondola, they learned that it was not operating due to a power outage in the Banff area The Canadian Press.

They were among 300 people stranded at a restaurant at the top of the mountain, the news outlet reported.

Pala Kovacs, who took the couple’s wedding photos, said about 100 guests took a helicopter ride down the mountain The Canadian Press. Others had the opportunity to hike down the mountain, but the newlyweds weren’t dressed for it – and at 2am they wanted to avoid encounters with wild animals, especially bears.

“It had stormed, there was lightning everywhere and it’s dark,” said Jacklyn McConnell. “It’s pitch black and there are bears everywhere. A lot of us didn’t feel comfortable going down.”

“I couldn’t go down if I wanted to,” Kovacs told the news outlet. “I had a suitcase full of photo gear and all my lights and stuff, so we waited until morning and then got shot down by helicopter.

“They did it fairly efficiently, we just had to wait until daybreak.”

That said a spokesman for Pursuit, the operator of the gondola The Canadian Press that they have strict procedures in place in the event of an incident such as a power outage.

“But we will always look for ways to improve the response of our guest communications,” Tanya Otis said in an email.

The McConnells decided to stay at the restaurant overnight and catch a helicopter the next day. It was definitely an interesting way to start married life.

“We slept on the floor,” said the bride The Canadian Press. “My husband slept on the floor in his suit. I slept on the floor in my wedding dress.

“It was almost like sleeping in an airport.”