When Juraj Hegyi and Zuzana Marcekova were stranded in Taiwan after the eruption of Iceland's volcano, the Orchard Park Hotel threw them a free wedding.
Iceland’s volcano eruption has foiled plans for plenty of would-be travelers since last Wednesday—but none more so than Juraj Hegyi and Zuzana Marcekova, a couple from Slovakia. They had been visiting Taiwan on a pre-wedding tour through Asia, and were expecting to be home on April 24th for their long-awaited wedding.
Because of the ash spewing from the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, much of Europe’s airspace has been shut down for over a week, and the couple was unable to fly home to be married before their friends and family. They were devastated by the turn of events, but after telling their story to a staff member at Orchard Park Hotel, where they were staying, they got a wonderful surprise: because Hegyi and Marcekova wouldn’t be able to make it to their own wedding, the hotel staff was bringing their wedding to them.
The hotel founder, Li San-lian, organized a spur-of-the-moment ceremony for the couple, paying for a wedding dress, rings, and decorations. A crowd of hotel staff, locals, and fellow stranded travelers were there to witness the ceremony—and, thanks to videoconferencing technology, so were the couple’s friends and family members at home.
Even though it wasn’t the wedding they’d spent a year planning, the couple were thrilled with the simple ceremony.
“Life is full of surprises. Taiwan will be a memory that we will never forget,” Hegyi told Taiwan News Online.