A BOURNEMOUTH bride and groom were stranded along with 37 wedding guests in the middle of the worst hurricane to hit Jamaica for decades.

Michael Cannings and Nicki Carter from Strouden Park had been saving up for their dream wedding in the Caribbean for nearly two years.

But the plans were left in tatters as the couple and their friends and family were trapped in their hotel, while winds topping 160mph and waves the height of two-storey buildings battered the island.

Grandparents, anxious parents and toddlers had to take refuge in the ballroom of their hotel in Montego Bay, sheltering from Hurricane Ivan's howling winds and the threat of flooding and landslides.

And with reports coming in of more than 50 deaths in Grenada and Jamaica, the relatives who stayed at home were frantic with worry as they desperately waited for news of their loved ones.

The groom's auntie Linda Paulley from Moordown lost touch with the family early on Friday afternoon.

A party of 37 relatives and friends flew out more than a week ago to Montego Bay for the wedding at the luxury Wyndham Rose Hall hotel complex.

Michael was set to marry his childhood sweetheart Nicki on Friday 10 September when the hurricane hit.

The family group included Linda's other two nephews and their wives and families, with five children aged seven and younger.

Linda said: "I had a call from my sister-in-law, Janet, on Friday afternoon but I haven't heard from anyone since.

"The communications lines still seem to be down. But Janet said on Friday that they were all very scared. The girls with the babies and children were going frantic. They just wanted to get their children out of there."

Members of the wedding party heard that the hurricane could be on the way several days earlier, but did not pay much attention to the warnings, said Linda.

But on Friday, they were told to pack up quickly and get ready to go to the airport.

To their horror, their Virgin holiday rep brought the news that the airport was closed and no more flights were leaving.

The stranded passengers had to bed down on mattresses in the hotel's ballroom, while Hurricane Ivan hammered the Jamaica's west coast.

One of those trapped with the wedding party was John Kidner from Throop, whose partner is Bournemouth's deputy mayor Cllr Anne Rey. She last heard from her fiance in the early hours of Saturday morning.

"It's been a frightening time, especially when you are watching the reports on television. But when I talked to John, he said the hotel staff had been fantastic."

Helena Patrinos from Virgin Holidays said she had managed to get in touch to the local holiday rep.

"He told us the Wyndham Rose Hall had very good hurricane procedures and was a very safe place to be," she said.

"The ballroom is an internal room with no windows and is designed to withstand hurricanes."

Linda doesn't know if her nephew's wedding will now go ahead at all. "It's Jamaica, so it was going to be outside. But we have no idea what the grounds are going to be like. But it's irrelevant really. Lives are more important than weddings."

First published: September 13