(UPI) An Ohio wedding was saved in the 11th hour by a catering manager who stepped in to replace the injured officiant.

Kelsey and Andy Schneck said they were panicking on the night before their wedding when their officiant fell during the rehearsal dinner and broke her ankle.

"I was pretty much in a state of panic," Kelsey told KTRK-TV. I've been planning my wedding for an entire year and we're not going to be able to do it because we have no one who can legally perform weddings.

The City Barbecue catering crew arrived moments later and Kelsey asked the driver to wait a moment in case the officiant needed to be taken to the hospital. The conversation was overheard by catering manager Manny Morales.

"I could see that she was really upset when we were talking," Morales told ABC's Good Morning America. I was thinking in the back of my head, I can do this. I'm an officiant.

Morales told the couple he would be able to officiate their wedding.

"I thought he was kidding," Kelsey said.

The Schnecks quickly realized Morales was serious and asked if he could be at the venue at 4 p.m. the next day.

Morales said he used notes from the previous officiant, who required surgery on her ankle, to conduct the ceremony.

"I made a joke at the beginning, and then I just read what she wrote," he said.

The couple said they are grateful to the caterer.

"I mean, he saved our big day," Kelsey said. I mean, I would describe him as almost the hero of the wedding, because without him, I don't know what the outcome would've been. He saved our day in every way possible.

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