Bridesmaid Goes Into Labor, Bride Proves What An Awesome Friend She Is

A bride in Australia found herself short a bridesmaid after her best friend unexpectedly went into labor five weeks early, giving birth the morning of the wedding. Rather than let it ruin the day, the wedding party made a special visit to the hospital and took the sweetest photos to commemorate this very special occasion.

The morning of Bernadette Beahan’s wedding was an exciting one. Only hours from the ceremony, she received the call that bridesmaid Melissa White was in labor. An hour after that call, White’s son was born. Instead of going through her special day according to plan, Beahan moved her hair and make-up appointments so she could rush to the hospital and visit her friend and the new baby. From The Motherish, Beahan says, “There were a lot of mixed emotions when it all happened on the morning. Obviously I was super happy for her but also sad she couldn’t be there. When she called me, I think we both sat on the phone crying to each other for five minutes. I had a lot of joy and happiness for her and her partner but again it was sad she couldn’t be there getting ready with us.”

Here is the bride’s side of the wedding party, as captured by their wedding photographer, heading to visit White in the hospital:

You can check out more of the images here, including photos of Beahan visiting White’s baby boy in the NICU. Other than White’s big news, the day went along as planned. Beahan says, “[Melissa and Hunter] are doing well. We’ve been on our honeymoon for the past two weeks, but I got to see before we left, but Hunter is doing really well, and will still be in hospital for another week. We now share the best date ever and it’s brought us closer together.”

Beahan is handling this beautifully. I’d like to believe most brides would be this gracious and understanding considering the circumstances, but some may not. Beahan is looking at it the right way — that now, she and her best friend both have reasons to be joyous on their shared day. What a wonderful thing for best friends to share. It’s nice to see how obviously supportive she was of White regardless of the fact that it was supposed to be “her” day.

All the planning in the world can’t account for certain events and that’s why it’s important for brides to remember that although the wedding day may feel like theirs, life is still happening around them. Any bride with a brain will understand that the world continues to spin even though they’re getting married. No wedding party member should feel pressure to schedule their family planning around a wedding, but there are brides who would probably expect that from their friends. It’s nice to hear a story of women supporting each other and making the best of it rather than feeling resentful or that one stole the other’s thunder.