Couple marry after miracle survival

MARC GREENHILL

A groom who feared his bride-to-be would not live to see their wedding believes her survival was a sign the marriage was destiny.

Emma Howard and Chris Greenslade tied the knot today at the Christ the King Catholic Church in Burnside, after Howard was rescued from ruins of the Pyne Gould building on Tuesday.

Howard recounted today how she was trapped "in a foetal position" for a terrifying 6½ hours after she was thrown from her chair when the 6.3 magnitude quake struck at lunchtime on Tuesday.

The accountant said her decision not to crouch under her desk saved her life as a section of the concrete floor from above crashed down on to her work station.

"I'm so lucky I didn't get under my desk," she told Radio New Zealand today.

"My desk was crushed by the corner of the concrete floor roof above me that came down."

Ms Howard said she thought she was going to die and went through "crying fits" during her ordeal.

She told how she and her six co-workers talked to each other and used the lights on their mobile phones to see in the darkness.

"There were so many things in between us, but we could see each other and we heard each other perfectly," she said.

Trapped in the rubble, Ms Howard texted her fiance, fellow accountant Chris Greenslade, who raced to the building from his nearby workplace.

"He just ran to me, expecting to find me standing on the street, ready to take me home" she said.

Mr Greenslade dug among the remains, pulling out other people as he searched for his bride-to-be.

He was photographed carrying an injured woman to safety in one of the first images that emerged of rescue efforts after the quake.

The bride, whose strapless gown revealed multiple bruises from the ordeal, was lost for words amid the media scrum.

"There aren't words,'' she said.

Greenslade said there was no thought of cancelling the wedding.

''For me, it was just natural. She survived that [collapse], so it was meant to happen,'' he said.

The quake caused few logistical problems for the wedding, outside the groom having to borrow a suit.

A friend of Howard's, who was also in the wedding party, was also trapped at Pyne Gould and survived.

''He was so lucky, he was dragged out by the fire crew as well. I've got my bride, I've got one of my good friends, we're just very lucky,'' Greenslade said.

The couple leave Sunday for a honeymoon in a secret location.

The priest leading the ceremony, Fr John Adams, said it was a bittersweet day.

''I've just been on the phone this morning, speaking to man who's going up to that same building to show his little toddlers where their mum is buried,'' he said.

''Just a couple of floors up, we're marrying a girl who escaped. It's especially poignant for that reason.''

Adams heard on Tuesday that Howard had been caught up in the building collapse, and the couple confirmed the following day the wedding was on.

''They asked could they still get married, and I said, 'Yes, of course'.

''I was really thrilled. It's the story of thing people hang on to in these times.''

The service would be altered to pay respect to those who had lost their lives, Adams said.

''Without wanting to sound too pious, Pope John Paul II once said, 'the final victory is always with love'.''

When asked how she was feeling as she prepared to wed, she told waiting media she was tired.

"The church is still in perfect condition and we have a marquee out here on dad's front lawn for the reception," she said.

"I'm fortunate that everybody we invited originally will be there."

Her anxious-looking father knelt down to fan out his daughter's train and said: "It's what dads do I guess.

- with AAP

- © Fairfax NZ News