Bride gets trapped in elevator, misses cocktail hour

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A bride missed the cocktail hour for her wedding reception Saturday night, after she became stuck in the elevator.

Melissa Rodger was headed to the 18th floor of the Providence Biltmore with two wedding planners when the elevator stopped four feet shy of the landing. "I was hoping that it would just take a minute," she told. "Five minutes went by and I thought: 'Okay, something might be wrong.'"

Her husband, Justin, found out shortly after. "One of her bridesmaids came up to me and whispered in my ear: 'we have a situation that's going on," he said. "'Don't be alarmed, but Melissa is stuck in the elevator.'"

Firefighters pried open the elevator doors. Providence Battalion Chief Jay Viens tells ABC6 News he has responded to a lot of jammed elevators in his 26 years with the department, but never found a bride stuck inside on her wedding night.

"We were prepared to get her honeymoon clothes down to her so she could change so she could crawl out,""Viens said.

Eventually the elevator technician came and got the elevator back up, 45 minutes after it first stalled.

The reception started about 20 minutes late, but the Rodgers' said it ran smoothly other than that.

They took the situation in stride, saying it will make for a great memory.