A Chicago bride says her entire family missed her Nevada weekend wedding because of mass Southwest Airlines cancellations that left her devastated parents watching the event on FaceTime.
Kimberli Romano, 34, and her husband-to-be Kyle Hlavaty, 37, flew to their wedding destination October 6 without issue, but things didn’t go so smoothly for relatives trailing behind on later flights.
Her Chicago-area parents and siblings were set to fly in for the Valley of Fire wedding on October 9, a day before the ceremony, but were among those affected by Southwest’s abrupt cancellation of more than 1,800 weekend flights.
‘So, I call my parents immediately and told them double-check everything because we just got notification that the flight was canceled,’ Romani told CNN.
‘And, of course, it turns out that it was, and I was freaking out. I was so emotional’
Kimberli Romani, 34, and Kyle Hlavaty, 37, were married Sunday in Nevada's Valley of Fire
The bride (in red) was the first sibling in the family to get married
An emotional Kimberli Romani recounts not having her parents at her wedding
Although the sign indicates the couple eloped, the wedding was meticulously planned
She said she managed to book her parents another flight from Milwaukee the morning of the October 10 wedding, but it also was cancelled.
Aside from her husband’s mom and aunt – who flew to Las Vegas earlier in the week – no family was able to witness the special occasion in person.
Romano said her parents watched the ceremony via FaceTime.
‘Service was spotty because we were up in the mountains and everything, but my mom said that she was able to see most of it," Romano said. "She couldn't hear anything but she could see most of it.’
Southwest cancelled nearly 1,800 flights on the weekend, including the flights of Romano's parents and sisters, who were planning to attend the desert wedding
Romano is pictured (center) with her sisters, who were supposed to be bridesmaids
Southwest Airlines on Monday issued 'a
