A bride has relived the unbelievable moment she was forced to flee as an area of her wedding venue caught fire just hours before the ceremony. Ystalyfera couple Sarah Jones, 33, and her new husband Luke Jones, 34, got engaged last September and then married at the Glyn Clydach in Neath on Saturday, October 7, after being together for ten years. But it was the build-up to their nuptials that neither of them could ever have expected.
As Mrs Jones and her wedding party were getting ready for the biggest day of her life in one of the hotel rooms with their make-up artist at around 9.30am, they received a knock on the door telling them that there had been a fire downstairs. The night before, in preparation for the big day, sparklers intended to be used for night-time photos had been put in a storage cupboard ready to be given to guests. Join our WhatsApp news community here.
But they somehow caught fire, resulting in the hotel being evacuated and the fire brigade being called. Still wearing their bridal dressing gowns, with their hair and make-up still half done, Mrs Jones and her bridesmaids finished off their wedding preparations outside, as they were not allowed to return inside until around 11am, an hour before the ceremony began. For the latest Neath Port Talbot news, sign up to our newsletter here.
READ MORE: Bride's wedding hack saved £1,500 and no-one could tell
Mrs Jones explained: "I had bought sparklers which were going to be used in the evening for an opportunity for cute night time photos. We separated them all and put them in a basket, and had to put them in a storage cupboard in the Glyn Clydach the night before. But on the day of the wedding, when things were being brought out of the cupboard, they all moved and it went up in flames. The next thing you know, we had a member of staff running into our room saying: "There's been a fire". We walked downstairs in our bridal dressing gowns, half hair and make-up done, and there was smoke everywhere.
"My make-up artist grabbed her brush and finished off some of the girls outside! As we were standing outside smoke was coming out of the double doors. All of a sudden gushes of smoke would come, then it would calm down, then more gushes of smoke would come. The fire brigade turned up and they went running in and came back out for a hose, that's when reality hit me and I was trying to hold back my tears.
"My florist turned up and must have had her bridal head on, as she just drove past the fire engines, straight to the door, and said 'I've got to deliver the flowers'. I shouted over to her and said, 'I'm by here!'. I lost my table plan which I took two and a half days to make myself, it was completely matted. I lost bags for the sweet cart, pencils for the newspapers, my whole wedding plan to give to my planner.
"I was quite calm, they were talking about ringing the registrars and changing the time, but I told them: 'No, it's fine'. I'm a planner anyway so I planned for if anything went wrong during the ceremony. Everything went fine and still ran to time, everyone at The Glyn Clydach was amazing and handled the situation so well. They did the best they could in a bad situation and pulled it off, it was really good. Things happen, it was just one of those freak accidents. The day went brilliant, and went without a hitch after that! I'd like to say thank you to Glyn Clydach for keeping me calm and carrying on and getting everything ready, and to the bridal party as well for carrying on like nothing happened."
A spokeswoman for The Glyn Clydach said: "We are happy to confirm that no-one was hurt during the incident, and we are so pleased that Sarah and Luke’s wedding day was able to go ahead as planned. The staff at The Glyn Clydach all followed our fire evacuation process, and we are pleased to say that the process was carried out with full co-operation from the guests staying at the hotel. The fire was extinguished before the fire brigade arrived and we would like to thank them for their quick response and their support on site."
A spokesman for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "At 9.35am on Saturday, October 7, the Neath and Pontardawe crews were called to an incident at the Glyn Clydach Hotel in Bryncoch, Neath. Crews responded to a fire confined to a small storage cupboard in the hotel’s reception area. Crews extinguished the fire, ventilated the area and silenced the fire alarm panel. The fire was caused by sparklers being stored in the cupboard and the premises was evacuated while the incident was ongoing. Crews left the scene at 10.09am."
Join the WalesOnline WhatsApp community
WalesOnline has launched a new breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community. From the biggest court stories to the latest traffic updates, weather warnings and breaking news, it's a simple way to stay up to date with what's happening in Wales.
Want to join? All you have to do is click on this link, select 'Join Community' and you're in. No one else in the community can see your personal information and you will only receive messages from the WalesOnline team. We will not spam your feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily.
If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking 'Exit Group'. You can read our Privacy Notice here.
