How Matty & PJ and The Hits listeners rescued this Kiwi bride's big day!

A Nelson bride was left in tears this week when her wedding gown was ruined the night before her big day. Then, two Kiwi radio hosts stepped in to help.

When it comes to planning a wedding, finding the dream dress is at the top of the to-do list. There’s a lot of pressure and expectation, and it can be a considerable investment of time and money.

You spend hours researching styles, trying on gowns, and once you find the one, chances are you have to spend even more time and money getting it altered to be your perfect fit.

By the night before your wedding, it’s hanging up in pristine condition ready to be worn down the aisle — what could go wrong?

South Island bride Lauren’s wedding dress was ruined after an accident with a steamer on the eve of her wedding day, leaving her in tears and scrambling to find a replacement gown.

The Hits host Matty McLean came across Lauren’s plight on Instagram and, along with his co-host PJ Harding, decided to give Lauren a helping hand.

Lauren’s sister Jess told The Hits about the saga.

She went on to explain Lauren’s dress was an off-the-shoulder style with ruching down the front, a slit and a medium-length train, in hopes the radio hosts would be able to find someone with a similar dress who could lend it to the bride.

“She’s open to different styles at this point, she’s running out of options pretty quickly!” Jess said.

Matty and PJ then put the call out on social media to listeners, several of whom called in to describe their own dresses and share the stories behind them.

The Hits Canterbury host Connor Kitto delivered the dress to the airport. Photo / The Hits

Even Air New Zealand got on board, promising to help transport the dress around the country if need be because the wedding was set to take place on Thursday morning.

It wasn’t long before they were “inundated” with dress options from former brides nationwide, Harding revealed.

Before long, Emma, from Christchurch, offered to lend Lauren her dress — and The Hits Canterbury host Connor Kitto put his hand up to pick up the gown and take it to the airport for a flight to Nelson.

Connor dropped the gown off at the Air New Zealand cargo desk in Christchurch, and staff confirmed it would be on a flight that evening.

Lauren herself then called in, telling the radio hosts that “it’s been a very stressful day”.

But, when asked how she felt when she saw Emma’s dress, she said, “I love it.”

The bride-to-be went on, “I’m so happy and I just feel so overwhelmed, just really pleased that she was able to do that.”

Lauren said Emma had been “very kind” and she “absolutely” would have done the same for her if their positions had been reversed.

“Thank you so much!”

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.