West Seneca newlyweds recount moment groom choked on dinner during reception

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- When it comes to your wedding day, it's supposed to be a day you never forget -- and that's especially true for a pair of newlyweds from West Seneca who are sharing how they got the scare of a lifetime at their reception.

Emily MacKinnon and Nicholas Birke were married in a beautiful ceremony on Aug. 23 at the Botanical Gardens in South Buffalo. They say their big day was everything they'd always dreamed of, up until it was time to eat at the reception.

That's when one bite would change the night.

"At dinner is when I took my second bite of food and I looked at my dear husband, and I said, 'This is great, isn't it?' And I looked at him, and he is red and purple, choking," Emily said. "So, I started slapping him on the back."

That's when Emily called for the help of one of her bridesmaids, a nurse, who, along with the best man and other members of the wedding party, did her best to help Nicholas and shield the commotion of what was happening from most of the wedding guests.

Nicholas was only a few bites in when he realized he had a roasted potato stuck in his throat.

"Just a little roasted potato that was probably 'that big' that I cut into fours, so it wasn't even the whole potato," Nicholas said. "I made it through two bites of chicken, and the first bite of potato, and that's when I was, like, 'Oh, this isn't normal.'"

It was at that point that Nicholas was rushed to the hospital, where he was placed on a ventilator and underwent a procedure to clear the blockage. The entire time, all Nicholas could think of was getting back to the reception to have the first dance with Emily.

"All I wanted to do, all I kept telling the doctors was, 'I need to do my first dance,'" Nicholas said. "I just kept telling the doctors, 'I need to do my first dance, I need to do my first dance' and God-willing I guess, I was able to do it and got out of the hospital pretty quickly."

To the surprise of their guests who stuck around, Nicholas made his grand entrance back to the reception, alongside his bride, in his hospital gown.

"That was all her," Nicholas said as he chuckled and pointed at Emily. "That was her idea. I was like, 'Oh, let me change.' She's like 'Nope, come back in the hospital gown, it's going to make it so much better.'"

With his arms raised and a smile from cheek to cheek, Nicholas reentered the reception in his hospital gown, greeting the roughly 60 guests who remained, thankful he was OK and back to celebrate.

"Our DJ, we were able to party for two hours after the ceremony when the reception was supposed to end," Nicholas said. "We were able to stay late and the venue was so great. They were like, no, after all you've been through, you stay here until four in the morning if you want to."

As for the hospital gown that stole the show when Nicholas made his grand return, the newlyweds have something creative in mind to commemorate the role it played that night.

"Oh, it's gonna get hung up," Nicholas said. "It's going to get hung up like a jersey for a sports team, and we're going to put a photo of us walking back in because I think that would be absolutely hilarious."

Both Nicholas and Emily say they're so thankful for the incredible efforts of their wedding party to keep their guests entertained while they were gone. Their advice to couples is to not stress over the little things because all that matters is that you have each other.

"We spent a lot on our wedding, but at the end of the day, we didn't care," Emily said. "We didn't care about the venue, the flowers, the napkin color, as long as he was OK."

What Emily and Nicholas were most looking forward to was their honeymoon. They spent nine days in Barbados, where Nicholas says he bravely returned to eating potatoes -- just not the roasted kind.