For most brides, planning a perfect wedding is enough to bring on incredible amounts of stress. However, for one African woman, her special day was nearly thwarted by an unfortunate attack by a crocodile.

Five days before Zanele Ndlovu, 25, and Jamie Fox, 27, tied the knot, they were canoeing in the Upper Zambezi River. During their voyage at the end of April, an 8-foot crocodile leaped out of the water, grabbed Ndlovu by the arm and dragged her into the water, reported the Telegraph.

"The crocodile just jumped out of the water and bit a chunk of my arm together with the side of the boat," Ndlovu told Zimbabwe's Chronicle. "The canoe started deflating, and it all happened so fast. The crocodile bit me again and pulled me into the water. My husband was thrown out on the opposite side so the boat was between us."

Fox immediately leaped into action and started punching the crocodile.

“Jamie swam over to where I was struggling with the crocodile that was trying to pull me to the bottom of the river and grabbed my waist and with the other hand he rained blows down on the crocodile," Ndlovu told the Telegraph.

The crocodile eventually let go, but only after completely tearing Ndlovu's arm off. She was then airlifted a hospital.

“I was shouting, trying to save her," Fox told the Associated Press. "She was not complaining of pain when we managed to pull her out of the water, maybe because of the shock. We were hoping the doctors would save her arm but that was not to be.”

Five days later, the couple married in a hospital chapel in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Ndlovu was still undergoing medical treatment, so they had to nix their arranged wedding venue.

Despite the tragedy, Ndlovu is still celebrating her joyous day.

"I spent a lot of time preparing for my wedding day, running around for a venue, decor and so forth," she told the Chronicle. "I didn't know fate would have me wed in a hospital chapel, with one limb missing. But in all this, I'm not complaining. My wedding was the best, and I have a wonderful husband."

Ndlovu, who also suffered injuries to her left hand, was released from the hospital on Monday, the Associated Press reports. The couple plans to move to the United Kingdom.