- Emma Degerstedt took to TikTok to share her wedding flight got axed last minute.
- She was slated to fly on a Boeing 737 Max 9, the plane model that lost its door mid-air last week.
- Commenters criticized her plan to fly so last minute, but she said the backlash was a blessing.
Everyone told Emma Degerstedt that something was bound to go wrong leading up to her wedding day.
She told Business Insider she figured her florist might forget flowers, or that a guest's flight might be delayed.
But a day before Degerstedt and her fiancé were scheduled to fly from Newark, New Jersey, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for their wedding, Degerstedt discovered their United flight was canceled.
They learned that the plane they were scheduled to fly on was a Boeing 737 Max 9 — the same plane model the FAA grounded earlier this week after an Alaska Airlines aircraft lost part of its fuselage in mid-flight.
@officialemmadegs SOS, i cant get anyone on the phone and all the flights are booked and only have standby. @United Airlines can you please fix this so we can get to our wedding?????
♬ original sound - officialemmadegs
According to Reuters, United has 79 Max 9s and canceled 167 flights on Wednesday as a result of the groundings.
United Airlines did not respond to BI's comment request at the time of publication. Boeing and Alaska Airlines declined BI's request for comment.
"We were emotionally prepared for this moment, but we just thought it might be a delayed flight due to weather," Degerstedt told BI. "We didn't think that doors, windows, and door plugs flying off of planes and loose bolts was going to be the reason our flight was completely canceled."
The couple rebooked on another airline to make it to Florida
On Tuesday, Degerstedt and her fiancé were told by United their Wednesday flight was canceled due to plane maintenance and inspection, she said.
Panic set in. Degerstedt's fiancé had his final tuxedo fitting scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m. in Florida. This Friday, they have their rehearsal dinner — and Saturday is the big day.
@officialemmadegs Welp, better than me flying out of an airplane tomorrow 🥴 @United Airlines #weddingweek
♬ Frolic (Theme from "Curb Your Enthusiasm" TV Show) - Luciano Michelini
"What are the odds that we're on one of 80 planes?" she said. "There's thousands and thousands of flights every day."
United had three other flights scheduled out of Newark on Wednesday, and only one would get them to the tuxedo fitting on time, Degerstedt said. The couple went to reschedule, but the flight was already full.
The couple said they didn't want to risk flying standby. While Degerstedt's fiancé figured out a flight alternative, Degerstedt started texting friends and family. Then, she decided to post on TikTok.
She said she hoped it might draw United's attention and support. While she didn't hear from the airline in response to her video, her conundrum was the perfect recipe for virality, sitting at the intersection of two of TikTok's most popular genres: wedding drama and travel debacles.
Degerstedt's saga exploded on Tuesday, nabbing 1.3 million views.
As Degerstedt's video gained traction, she said the pair was willing to do anything to get to Florida.
"We'll fly out of a different airport. We'll fly into a different airport. We'll take a train," Degerstedt said. "We'll do whatever we need to do."
Ultimately, Degerstedt's fiancé found a solution. He booked the pair on the last two seats of an American Airlines flight heading to Florida at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The couple would land at a different airport but with plenty of time to get to the tux fitting.
Since the first video, Degerstedt has continued to document the rest of her wedding run-up in real-time — including their realization about the Boeing issue, an early-morning airport jaunt, and the couple's arrival on a sunny beach — totaling more than 460,000 additional views.
@officialemmadegs Replying to @🧿 to clear up the “flying out the night before” situation
♬ original sound - officialemmadegs
That said, commenters have largely been unsupportive, and many were "hateful," Degerstedt said in her most recent TikTok. Some felt it was her fault for flying out so close to the ceremony.
She clarified in both videos and to BI that, in a panic, she had written out the video's caption incorrectly. Their flight was days before the wedding — not the day before.
Despite the backlash, she told BI, it's ultimately helped her wedding guests stay informed about what's happening.
"The silver lining here is that because of this viral TikTok, a lot of my guests got the heads up that they need to figure this out and check on their flight," she said. "So it actually ended up being a positive thing."
Degerstedt said 10 of the 130 guests were slated to fly on Boeing 737 Max 9s.
Three guests on Max 9s preemptively changed their flights. Another two later learned that their flights were canceled. She said they rebooked flights to another part of Florida and will drive to the wedding from there.
Degerstedt is still waiting to find out what will happen to the other five.
"It's not necessarily over yet," she said.
Thankfully, she and her fiancé are doing everything they can to get everyone to their wedding. And, they're already starting to laugh about the entire event.
"Maybe this is a good omen," she said. "Maybe it's like rain on your wedding day."
