Couple gets 48 hours' notice to change wedding venue; President Kovind steps in for rescue

President Ram Nath Kovind (Image- Reuters)

United States national Ashley Hall had long planned her destination wedding at Taj Vivanta in Kochi on January 7. Everything was going perfect, except, when she reached the five-star property, the bride-to-be was informed that she will have to change the wedding venue.

The reason? The date of her wedding was clashing with President Ram Nath Kovind’s stay at the hotel, who was due to visit the Navy Port in Kochi. Therefore, as per the usual security protocol, the wedding party was asked to seek out an alternative to avoid any inconvenience.

With a notice period of just two days in hand, the distraught bride took to Twitter to share her ordeal. Hall wrote on January 4:

Sometimes you plan a destination wedding for 8 months at an elite hotel in India.

Sometimes the President of India makes an impromptu trip to that hotel on the day of the wedding. Sometimes you get 48 hours notice to plan an entirely new wedding. — Ashley Hall (@hall_ash) January 4, 2020

In another tweet posted on January 5, Hall tagged the Rashtrapati Bhavan as a last resort, hoping for a miracle.

Hey @rashtrapatibhvn- anything you can do to help us with your security team so that we don’t have to move our wedding from the @Taj_Cochin in under 48 hours? https://t.co/0S5y9az9Hk

— Ashley Hall (@hall_ash) January 5, 2020

And that’s just what happened. Though the Rashtrapati Bhavan did not reply to the tweet, we gather from Ashley Hall’s following Twitter posts that the President had stepped in and saved the harrowed couple from further stress.

I want to thank the @Taj_Cochin and State Officials for working on this with us throughout the day. Hoping we can have a beautiful wedding with the blessings of The Honorable @rashtrapatibhvn. https://t.co/i6lR4D9YDQ

— Ashley Hall (@hall_ash) January 5, 2020

President Kovind’s security cover was reduced and he decided to check out from Taj Vivanta early morning on January 7 itself to make sure the wedding goes smooth. Later, he tweeted a congratulatory message to the couple that read:

We are glad the issues have been resolved. President Kovind conveys his best wishes to you on this joyous occasion

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 5, 2020