‘We would have honestly not been able to get married’ – Devon couple’s wedding saved by charity team

A Devon couple’s wedding was almost derailed when their witnesses were stranded on the M3 motorway just minutes before the ceremony.

Zack Hazell and Hannah Mizen were due to marry at Teignbridge Registration Office in Newton Abbot on 18 June.

However, with only 25 minutes to go, their witnesses’ car broke down, putting the ceremony at risk.

The registrar suggested the couple seek help from The Mare and Foal Sanctuary’s Reuse and Recycle warehouse, located nearby on Brunel Road.

READ MORE: Charity captures heartwarming foal birth on webcam

Dawn Green, Retail Operations Manager at the charity, said: “Zack and Hannah turned up at the door in a bit of a panic, explaining what had happened. We offered them a cuppa to calm their nerves, and they nattered away with the team who were having a lunch break. My colleague Simone and I were delighted to step in to be their witnesses, so their day could go ahead as planned. They’re such a lovely couple.”

Zack, who runs South West Assistance Dogs, and Hannah, a social media executive, had driven from their home in Torrington to Newton Abbot ahead of the 12.30pm ceremony.

Zack said: “We cannot thank The Mare and Foal Sanctuary enough. Our original witnesses were on the M3 for hours so we would have honestly not been able to get married without Dawn and Simone, and the rest of the team. Everybody was incredibly kind and genuinely our wedding day could not have been more perfect.”

Simone Von-Ellson, manager of the Sanctuary’s Brixham charity shop and one of the stand-in witnesses, said: “We’re very connected to our local community and love to help where we can. I think this will actually be our fourth unexpected wedding! It was a pleasure to be part of such a special occasion, and we wish Zack and Hannah all the happiness in their future together. We hope they’ll pop in to the shop to say hello again soon. We’ve asked our Horse Care team to send us a ‘lucky’ horseshoe that we can give to them as a memento of their day.”

The charity plans to send the couple a ‘lucky’ horseshoe from their horse care team as a memento.

The Mare and Foal Sanctuary is the largest horse rescue charity in the Southwest, providing lifelong sanctuary to nearly 600 horses and ponies.

It operates six charity shops across South Devon and manages four equine reserves in the county.