For most brides, their wedding day is all about celebrating themselves and the new journey they’re embarking on.
But for Sarah Ray it was just another chance to show her passion for her work, and her selfless personality.
It all started just after Sarah Ray had wed her new husband, and fellow paramedic, Paul and they got news that threatened to ruin everything.
Members of Ray’s family, specifically her grandparents and her father, had been involved in a car crash driving between the ceremony and the wedding reception.
Neither Sarah nor Paul hesitated for a moment, and despite the situation and perhaps inappropriate dress, they rushed to the scene to assist.
Stopping on their way to their own wedding reception they were able to lend a hand.
The accident happened just 3km from the church where the newlyweds had been married, and occurred when a driver ran a red light and slammed into the car Sarah’s family was driving. Sarah in particular was eager to check on the health of her grandmother who was involved in the crash. She said that, like her granddaughter, her grandmother was only thinking of her big day.
“She was upset that she had ruined my day, and I told her it wasn’t her fault,” Ray said.
But this act of selflessness would not have rippled around the world if it wasn’t for a photograph that Sarah’s mother Marcy Martin snapped amidst the action of her daughter in her wedding dress. Although Sarah was surprised that even at the scene of the crash her mother was taking photos, Marcy said she was immediately in love with the photo.
“It shows her character and accentuates her beauty,” she said.
The image was later shared on the Firefighters Worldwide Facebook page where it went viral, with many stranger from all over the world praising Sarah for her passion and dedication to others.
But Sarah was remarkably nonplussed by her moment of fame.
“Anybody in the EMS field would’ve done the same thing. I don’t know if what I did was special but I was in a wedding dress.”
It might not have been the perfect wedding that she envisioned, but Sarah Ray’s wedding day is certainly not one that will soon be forgotten in her own family history, or in her community. And none of Sarah’s family were seriously harmed, with only minor bruising caused by the airbags.
Indeed, the family able to continue on to the wedding reception, eager to celebrate this unique couple who thought only of themselves, even during one of the milestones of their young lives.
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