BOWMAN -- While his daughter's hot air balloon ride lasted less than two minutes, Mark Ott was determined to make his daughter's childhood dream come true.

Ott's daughter, Ashley, and her fiance, Gary Williams, were married Saturday afternoon at Bowman First Baptist Church, but that's not the end of their story.

"It's been her dream since childhood ... to leave her wedding in a hot air balloon. Her mother and I ... were going to try and make that happen. It's kinda like what you see on 'Days of Our Lives'," Ott said.

Excited wedding guests looked on as gusty winds threatened whether Ashley and husband were ever going to leave the ground at all. There was some doubt about the safety of the trip.

"There's no telling where they'd end up."

"That hot air balloon doesn't have a steering wheel on it."

Those were among the statements that were shared among the onlookers, but after nearly an hour wait, the flushed bride exited the church with her husband beside her to take the ride of her dreams.

Balloon pilot Mike Tele of Columbia, who is also known as "Mr. Telegram," explained to the couple that what was supposedly going to be a 30-minute balloon ride would likely be cut short because of the wind gusts.

With that said, the couple made a final wave to family and friends and were soon up and into the air for what turned out to be a short ride.

Ott said once down on the ground, the couple were to be driven off in a Branchville Fire Department truck. Williams, an engineer with the Bamberg Fire Department, is also a volunteer fireman with the Branchville Fire Department. Ashley does volunteer work with the fire department.

The couple will reside in Dorange, a community located on Highway 78 between Branchville and Reevesville.

While Ashley's dream ride came true, Ott was worried about her landing and soon had a wish of his own.

"I want to see her on the ground," he said, while scrambling for his truck to get to the landing site.

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