
She spotted her Mr Right
MOST brides are nervous in the lead-up to a wedding.
But Ballina's Tarnika Martin (now Hayes) had more reason than most - she was diagnosed with chickenpox a few days before her wedding to Michael Hayes.
"On Sunday I finished my last shift at work before the wedding," she said.
"I wasn't feeling great. I was hot and cold; I had chills, body aches and a fever.
"The next day I couldn't even get out of bed because I was feeling so sick.
"On the Tuesday I started getting this rash on my stomach.
"On Wednesday morning when Michael got home from the gym, he looked at me and I could just tell by the look on his face that something was seriously wrong. I had all these red spots all over me."
A doctor quickly diagnosed chickenpox and ordered her to stay in bed.
But the bride-to-be had plenty to do with just three days until her wedding.
So she enlisted Michael
"Once Michael realised that I was actually sick and not just nervous about the wedding, he did everything he could," Tarnika said.
"He finished organising everything and looked after our two-year-old daughter, Aryanna."
Tarnika's bad luck didn't end with the chickenpox.
Her car broke down and the make-up artist booked for herself and her bridesmaids cancelled three days before the wedding.
"After frantically ringing around we got Bronzed and Beautiful - they squeezed us in, which was so nice."
Tarnika and Michael married at Boulder Beach at Skennars Head on a beautiful, sunny day in front of 90 family members and friends. The reception was held at the Ballina RSL.
"It was perfect in the end," Tarnika said.
"The lead-up to the wedding wasn't ideal, but on Saturday I just felt so calm.
"Everyone was surprised that I was so relaxed, even though I had chickenpox.
"But it didn't matter to me what I looked like.
"I was so happy because I was marrying the man of my dreams and I couldn't be happier."