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Your Wedding Place | Wedding Articles | Wedding Song Lyrics
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Tsunami Survivors Marry In Sri Lanka2006-03-31A little over a year after surviving the devastating tsunami which killed more than 200,000 people, a Bridlington couple have returned to Sri Lanka to get married. And Sarah and Michael Josefsen said the local people whose lives were ruined by the disaster pulled out all the stops to make sure their big day was perfect. It was a difficult decision to go back to the scene of the tragedy but the couple said they had no regrets. Sarah said: "Before we went back I was a bit worried but when we got there we knew we had made the right decision. "It was just the best day. It was so different to what we have here but it was amazing. They do absolutely everything to make sure your day is perfect. "We must have both had the idea of going back for the wedding on our minds. We were deciding on places to go and we both sort of said at the same time 'what do you think about going back to Sri Lanka?'." The couple had stayed in touch with Nandana Wedisinghe, one of the men who looked after them in the days after the tragedy, and invited him to be one of the groomsmen at the ceremony at the Neptune Hotel, in Beruwella. "We had an idea what was going to happen but it was better than anything we had ever imagined. "You have so much to do throughout the day. You get brought in by a procession of drummers and dancers, then you sign the register and go over to the stage area and do all the rituals. Everything has a meaning, one is for good luck, one is for happiness and so on. "Then an elephant took us away down to the beach," said Sarah. In the evening, the couple and their friends and family went back to the beach, had a meal and then the hotel they were staying at organised a celebration fireworks display. It was just a stone's throw from the resort of Bentota where the couple watched the terrible events unfold in December 2004. They lost almost all their possessions and feared for their lives as they were in the water during the first wave and Michael had to pull Sarah to safety. They then stood on a first-floor walkway as the waves got higher. Sarah said: "This time we were staying literally three hotels down. You went on to the beach and you could see across to where we were. They have started to rebuild it and we didn't think that would happen because it was in such a mess. "They have done really well, everything is pretty much back to normal. "There are a few areas which are not so good, people are living in tents and you can see where buildings have disappeared from, but for the most part things are back up and running. "Speaking to people there, they said tourism had not been so good but it was getting a lot better. We are so glad we did it, just to see how happy everybody is now everything is looking so good." Michael, an IT consultant, and Sarah, a teacher at Quay Primary School, have already made plans to make a third visit to Sri Lanka. She said: "We are going back again next year and we are staying in touch with Nandana. "We went to see his house this time , and it is literally a mud hut, but he cooked for us over a fire and he is building a new house to build a better life for himself. "He sends us things in the post and he got is a traditional Sri Lankan picture as a wedding present. "We can't wait to go back"
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