It's not every day you read a story about a jilted groom and wind up feeling sorry for the bride, too.
Nichola Tuohy, a mom of three, got engaged to the man of her dreams on Valentine’s Day 2015.
Everything seemed perfect. They planned to wed the following summer in front of 80 friends and family members.
The rehearsal dinner, which took place the evening before the wedding, went off without a hitch.
But after 17 months of detailed planning, Nichola never expected a string unforeseen disasters would ultimately ruin her wedding and beyond.
Scroll down to see the series of events that unfolded and left the bride-to-be scrambling on what was supposed to be the best day of her life.
[H/T: Kelly Strange, The Sun]
We've seen many stories about jilted brides and grooms left abandoned at the altar.
The woman you're about to meet, however, is not your standard "runaway bride."
Nichola is a mother of three from Essex, in the United Kingdom.
After meeting a man named Darren online, the pair fell in love and got engaged on Valentine's Day 2015.
Nichola and Darren began planning their $17,000 wedding.
Eighty guests were invited to the big day, which was slated to take place on July 9, 2016.
The day before the wedding, Nichola stood beside Darren at church to rehearse the ceremony.
The rehearsal went off without a hitch.
But after 17 months of planning, Nichola woke up on her wedding day in a complete panic over her massive to-do list.
The bride-to-be never anticipated a slew of unforeseen disasters would ultimately cost her their relationship.
Early that morning, the bride went to a local department store to get her makeup done.
Not only did the appointment take longer than anticipated, but she was unhappy with the results.
Nichola rushed home to remove the makeup and redo it herself — but she only had 90 minutes before the ceremony began.
When she walked through the front door, she never expected to see her parents and children there. And they weren't dressed or ready for the wedding!
Nichola claims her parents had not approved of the marriage and suddenly decided they were not going to the wedding.
Heartbroken (but in a mad rush), she frantically took her kids to the hotel with her to get ready — only to get there and discover her daughter's flower girl dress was nowhere to be found.
"I started crying. I had a bare face, no makeup on, no dress on, no flower girl dress and half an hour to get ready."
Then, Nichola received a text from one of her bridesmaids saying she couldn't make it to the wedding.
She called Darren in hysterics as their guests were already arriving at the church.
Darren was getting increasingly frustrated by her lateness.
Nichola fled the hotel in a hurry with her kids in tow, but realized the vintage wedding car waiting outside had no seat belts.
“It was only supposed to be taking me, but now I had the kids I knew I couldn’t put them in a car with no seat belts. I was in such a panic."
The church was 20 miles away; she had 30 minutes to get there.
Feeling defeated, Nichola knew she wouldn't make it on time.
Meanwhile, Darren was left standing in front of the guests, pleading with the officiant to wait. However, he had other ceremonies booked that day.
Nichola accidentally jilted her groom!
She was able to make it to their reception, but by this point, Darren was so upset that he'd walked out.
Nichola could not have felt worse. She begged Darren for forgiveness while he stormed off and went back to their honeymoon suite.
The couple initially decided to stay together despite the disastrous wedding, but she says it hung over them like a dark cloud.
They eventually drifted apart and ended their relationship.
Nichola shared her story with Kelly Strange from The Sun and took full responsibility for missing her wedding ceremony.
"I just got so overwhelmed with things to do on the day that I had a meltdown. I feel like I have lost everything. I just hope that one day he can forgive me.”
Perhaps the saddest part is the fact Nichola wishes the rehearsal, which took place the night before the ceremony, had been the real thing.
"It was perfect, and now we’d be man and wife."
Nichola's heart is broken, but maybe these two can find their way back to a happy ending.
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