On Saturday, 26-year-old Jamieka Harford married her partner, Alistair John, in a beautiful ceremony held on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula in New Zealand.
But just moments after the ceremony, the happy bride started to feel sick. Mere hours later, she had died from meningococcal disease.
Jamieka’s husband Alistair has now spoken about the heartbreaking passing of his new wife, saying it was a “huge shock” and “has been incredibly difficult to process.”
“She was taken from us without notice by a horrible, deadly disease,” he told the New Zealand Herald.
In a statement to Newshub, the family said: “Jamieka was so happy to be married and the wedding was a beautiful, happy occasion surrounded by love.”
They described Jamieka as “the most kind-hearted person in the world who loved life and she always put others before herself. She was a beloved wife, daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin and friend. She will be missed forever.”
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service is investigating Jamieka’s sudden death which was likely caused by meningococcal disease.
