When 100-year-old Virginia Karl found out her flight to Bermuda to attend her beloved great-nephew’s wedding was cancelled, she decided nothing was going to stop her getting here.

The centenarian, and the two aides that she needed to travel with, hired a private jet to take her from Washington, DC to the island.

Such is the love for her great nephew Troy Wrighton, “nothing was going to get in her way”.

Mr Wrighton, who married his bride Scarlett on Saturday at the Unfinished Church in St George’s, explained the special bond he had with his great aunt which went some way to explaining her extravagant impulse.

“She has been a very special person to me all my life,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“My grandmother passed away in 2008 and aunty Virginia has been the matriarch of the family throughout my relationship with my wife, Scarlett. She loves Scarlett very much.

“She always talked to me about marriage and was one of the biggest inspirations in my life. And when I told her we were getting married, she said she wasn’t going to miss it for the world – she was the second person I told that I had asked for Scarlett’s hand in marriage. My mother was first.

“She is over 100 years old now so it really was a lot for her to get here and very special that she was present. She insisted on making this wedding by any means necessary — it was not an easy process.

“She needed to be here for this which meant the world to us.”

Describing his special day, which was made even more special by the presence of his great aunt, Mr Wrighton, who hails from New York, said: “She was front and centre — the entire day was amazing connecting with her intermittently as she moved from place to place. She cried a bit, I cried a bit when we first saw each other. She went through a lot to get here and had anticipated the wedding for a long time.

“She has a very special connection with myself but also with my wife who is very strong and accomplished in her own right. She is the chief innovation officer at a bank. Aunt Virginia has always been an inspiration to her in that way — they share that same mentality.

“Virginia was the head of social work for the Veterans Administration in Washington DC. She retired at around 65, she was a real renaissance woman and had so much energy and such a love for life that I always appreciated. Since I was a baby she has been a supportive and nurturing presence in my life.”

Mr Wrighton, who is staying at Grotto Bay Beach Resort, chose Bermuda for his wedding destination as his grandmother and grandfather brought his mother and uncle here for many years during the 60s and he grew up hearing stories of the island.

His expectations were fully met, he said. “We were blown away by the beauty of the island, the azure blue water and the hospitality of all the people here. It has been an amazing experience.”

One of those friendly faces was that of their Bermudian driver Jimmy Bailey who was so taken by Virginia when he met her that he was compelled to call The Royal Gazette and share her story.

He told us: “When I picked her up on Thursday from the private jet she was still able to walk, she was sharp — she was something else. She didn’t look anywhere near 100. She looked like she was in her 70s. I was really taken by her.”