Newlyweds miss own wedding reception in US after getting stuck in elevator

The newlyweds posed with the firefighters after they were rescued. (Image: CharlotteFireDept/Facebook)

A newlywed couple missed their own wedding reception after being stuck in an elevator at the hotel with four other guests for two hours in US’ North Carolina.

Panav and Victoria Jha, likely of Indian-origin, were all set and ready to go to their reception party at the 16th floor of the Grand Bohemian Hotel.

The couple had entered the elevator with four other guests including the bride’s sister when they got stuck between the ground floor and the first floor, Wbtv.com reported.

"We go up maybe five feet and then just stopped," Panav Jha told WBTV. "The door was slightly ajar, so I was like, 'Hmm, that's not normal.'"

Rescue services were unable to get the door unstuck stranding the couple and the guests for two hours before firefighters rescued them.

It was not easy to rescue them for firefighters either.

After they exhausted all the normal troubleshooting methods on an elevator call, they opted for what is called a rope rescue.

They first opened the top of the elevator and then pulled all six people were pulled up to the fourth floor.

The Charlotte Fire Department shared this incident on Facebook with photos from the eventful day. "WEDDING NIGHT RESCUE: First, congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Jha on your wedding day. Although Charlotte Fire wasn't formally invited, we weren't exactly wedding crashers either. Early this morning, our crews responded to an elevator entrapment," they wrote.

“When Charlotte Fire crews arrived, 6 people were trapped in a hotel elevator between the first and second floor. Firefighters rigged equipment to hoist those trapped up out of the elevator to the best access point on the fourth floor. After the first person was recused, she said, "please get my sister out next, she's the one in the wedding dress." All 6 who were pulled to safety were part of the Jha wedding party. Thankfully, no one required medical attention. Mr. and Mrs. Jha, we hope today is the start of a long and happy life together,” they concluded with a photo of the crew with the smiling newlyweds.