Bushfire forces couple to relocate ceremony – and marry in a local pub

Carli and Ennis had to evactuate their wedding when a bushfire came too close. Image: Ennis Cehic via Twitter

A Victorian couple were forced to relocate their wedding to a nearby pub after a roaring bushfire threatened their country ceremony.

When Melbourne bride Carli Popplewell was running late for her wedding her guests didn’t realise the bushfire raging in the distance were the reason she hadn’t yet reached her own wedding ceremony. Carli told the Herald Sun, “I was on my way and the fire blew through in front of us.

“I couldn’t get through to the wedding,”

Ennis Cehic and Carli’s wedding was scheduled to take place at the Galwiji Homestead in Scotsburn, a 100-year-old homestead located 120kms west of Melbourne, surrounded by sprawling country acres.

Ennis and his 170 guests waited for Carli’s arrival as a scorching bushfire loomed in distance.

The flames moved quickly towards the wedding party, enveloping the surrounding area and, when black smoke grew thick in the sky, Ennis and his guests made the decision to evacuate the wedding, leaving behind the white chairs and decorations on the property.

Ennis contacted his bride-to-be and the couple chose to continue their special day despite the terrifying hindrance.

Within a few hours the wedding party had been relocated to the Crown Hotel in Buninyong, where Ennis and Carli exchanged vows.

Carli told News Corp; “It’s disappointing but I’m happy.

“I’m just so happy everyone is safe.”

Thankfully, the fire that threatened Galwiji Homestead only made it to surrounding paddocks and the main building remained intact.

The newlyweds donated what should have been their wedding meal to local fire crews who had been fighting the blazes in the surrounding area.

Bride Carli with her bridesmaids. Image: Carli Cehic via Facebook