But unfortunately for this newlywed couple, their special day ended in devastation.
As they were leaving their wedding reception last Friday, a drunk driver carelessly collided with their golf cart, leaving the bride dead and her husband severely injured.
Yahoo News reported that Samantha Miller, 34, and Aric Hutchinson, 36, were involved in the accident hours after they celebrated their nuptials with friends and family at Folly Beach, in South Carolina, a GoFundMe post by Hutchinson's mother, Annette, said.
The newlyweds were in the golf cart — decorated with a "just married" sign — with two others when a drunk driver hit the group from behind, Chief Andrew Gilreath, the public safety director for Folly Beach, said, according to CNN.
The cart was thrown over 100 yards and flipped several times, the GoFundMe post said. It was left "quite mangled" and on its side, Gilreath added, according to CNN.
Miller, who was from North Carolina, died of blunt force injuries at the scene, Charleston County Coroner's Office said, per CNN. Her new husband suffered several broken bones and a brain injury, his mother said.
The driver of the other vehicle has since been identified as 25-year-old Jamie Lee Komoroski, Gilreath said, according to CNN and the Associated Press. It is unclear what kind of car she was driving.
Data retrieved from her rental car indicated that she was driving at 65 mph in a 25 mph zone and only briefly hit the brakes before she hit the golf cart, CNN and AP reported.
Komoroski has been charged with reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of driving under the influence and causing great bodily harm, court records show.
A wedding day is a day filled with so much joy and anticipation for the future, and it's a day that is meant to be remembered with fondness for years to come.
It's heartbreaking to think that this couple's celebration of love was cut short by the reckless actions of someone else.
It's a sobering reminder of the importance of responsible behavior and the devastating consequences that can occur when someone chooses to drink and drive.
