Couple Had Wedding Planned, Then Woman’s Water Broke – So They Asked Nurse, ‘Can You Marry Us Here?’

"The nurses formed an aisle around the front of the maternity ward desk that gave us a real wedding experience,” dad Michael Odland tells PEOPLE

You see a lot of strange things in a maternity ward, but it's not often that you witness a woman about to give birth exchange wedding vows while wearing medical gauze as her bridal veil.

Yet, that’s exactly what happened last month at Northern Westchester Hospital in New York.

Of course, that's wasn't the plan. Sleepy Hollow residents Michael Odland and Nora Regis, both 38, had it all worked out: they were going to get married in a small ceremony on May 10 just before the arrival of their baby in June.

“We had a shower planned for him, I had a grad school final but he decided to come early,” Nora tells PEOPLE. “So all those things have been put on hold.”

“You know what they say, you make plans and God laughs,” adds Michael.

Still, there was one thing they wanted to make happen before becoming parents: tying the knot.

The couple, who have known each other since childhood, parted ways when they graduated from high school. Michael headed for the West Coast, while Nora pursued a degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"I was working on a project for my dad in New York. My mom was like, Nora's back around in town," Michael says. "She was willing to entertain a date."

"It was clear we had good chemistry," she adds of their fateful first date in 2022.

He now works at a non-profit, while she works as a program manager while pursuing a Masters degree. Both run on tight schedules, which makes it difficult when the unexpected happens, like the early arrival of their child.

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The couple arrived at the hospital after Nora's water broke on April 18 when she was only 33 weeks pregnant.

“Our first thoughts were just trying to assess the risk and making the choice to do a C-section,” Michael says. “That kind of allowed us to ask if this is being scheduled, do you have a chaplain and can you marry us here?”

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And that’s when Valerie Goodwin went from nurse to wedding coordinator and, ultimately, matron of honor.

Goodwin tells PEOPLE the ward is always busy, and this day was no exception. She and the staff are used to helping patients, but was initially taken a little aback.

“It was the most unusual request I think I’ve ever had in the 17 years I’ve been a nurse,” says Goodwin, 42. Still, it didn't take long for “all the other nurses" to jump in to help.

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They made a veil of hospital gauze, took flowers from a display to make a bouquet and tried desperately to find someone to marry the couple.

Without chaplains working that late on a weekend night, the nursing staff pressed on.

“We got bumped back by six or eight hours because there were others who needed to go first, so in that time the maternity nursing staff was working in the background,” Michael says. “They were calling everyone asking ‘Can anyone marry them?’ ”

And that’s when a call hit: There was an ordained minister who might be at the hospital. Michael “Rev” Revenson, an EMS paramedic, was a non-denominational officiant.

“It was a last-ditch effort,” says Revenson. “My shift started at 11 p.m., so I said I can be right over. They already had their vows and their marriage license so we were all set. And the hospital and staff really went above and beyond for this.”

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Michael says they are calling Revenson their “Emergency Marriage Technician.”

“When he arrived, the nurses formed an aisle around the front of the maternity ward desk that gave us a real wedding experience,” Michael says. “For me, it was just really moving.”

“It was really cool and sweet," adds Nora. "They were all so excited and it was really heartwarming.”

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Fortunately, Nora's mom, Janet Brandstrader, was at the hospital for the birth of her grandchild and not only witnessed the nuptials, but also served as wedding photographer.

“So right after the wedding, we put on our scrubs,” Michael says. “We’re walking to the delivery room and it was like, that really did happen in the nick of time.”

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