Love Prevails: 10 Weddings that Hurricane Helene & Milton Couldn’t Stop

Hurricanes couldn’t stop these weddings: 10 Stories of resilience & love following Hurricane Helene & Hurricane Milton

 

The past few weeks have been heartbreaking for many families across the country, as Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton caused incredible losses in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. Here at AMM, we’ve watched the news with deep concern and care – for our ministers in the region, and for everyone that’s been impacted by these powerful storms. 

 

We’ve also seen the outpouring of love, resilience, and relief efforts that have followed. These stories are a salve in difficult times. Communities near and far working together alongside government and military personnel, coming together in a difficult situation to help one another. 

In this spirit of hope, joy, and perseverance, we’ve gathered a few heartwarming stories of families celebrating love and marriage in the midst of these storms. 

 

These stories are a bright spot for us, a beacon of better days ahead, and the healing power of love. They show us that love can survive unexpected and immeasurable difficulties to bring us together – and we want to share them with you. 

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10 Weddings That Triumphed Over Hurricane Helene & Hurricane Milton 

 

1. Father walks 17 miles along washed-out roads to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding

 

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, a 64-year-old man named David Jones traveled 27 miles, including 17 miles on foot, to reach his daughter’s wedding in Tennessee. Jones was turned away at the border between his home-state of South Carolina and Tennessee by state troopers, who told him that the roads had been washed out by the storm. Not understanding the true risks to his life, Jones defied the troopers and crossed the border secretly on foot. With good luck, and the help of a kind driver who stopped to pick him up, Jones survived the treacherous journey and made it to his daughter’s 10am wedding ceremony on time to walk her down the aisle. 

 

Read the full story on USA Today: Dad traveled miles on foot through Hurricane Helene's damage to walk daughter down aisle

2. Couple donates their entire wedding menu to families in need when Hurricane Helene cancels their wedding plans

 

When Jessica Beebe and Will Landacre were forced to cancel their destination wedding in Independence, Virginia, following flooding caused by Hurricane Helene, they turned their loss into an act of kindness for others. The food truck they’d booked for the event was already full of warm meals, so they gave all of the meals away to residents in the area, many of whom had been left without power or food to eat. 

 

Read the full story by CBS 17 here: NC couple donates wedding menu after Helene cancels wedding. Or watch television coverage of this story in this video. 

3. Biltmore Estates, in North Carolina, throws this couple an impromptu wedding after Hurricane Helene forced them to cancel their plans

 

When hotel guests who were stranded at the Biltmore Estates in Asheville, North Carolina, learned that Jansen and Travis Putnam had to call off their wedding because of Hurricane Helene’s approach, they all pitched-in to throw an impromptu wedding in the courtyard. A thoughtful staff member at the venue was ordained online ahead of the storm just in case the hired officiant couldn’t make it, and ended up performing the beautiful ceremony. 

 

Read the full story by WITN News: Biltmore staff, guests throw impromptu wedding for couple stranded by Hurricane Helene

 

See a photo from this incredible community effort in the Instagram post below. A photographer who happened to be staying at the hotel was able to capture photos of the ceremony for Jansen and Travis. 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by McQ (@moments_by_mcq)

 

4. After Hurricane Milton, a man in Florida navigates flood waters in a kayak to attend friend’s wedding ceremony  

 

In Orange County, Florida, a man named Grant Carter used his parent’s kayak to navigate flooded roads to reach his home and wedding clothes, so that he could attend his friends’ wedding ceremony. The water was chest-deep in many areas, but had started to recede as he made his way home. 

 

Read the full story on Click Orlando: Florida man doesn’t let flooding stop him from attending friend’s wedding

 

5. Vendors scramble to make this couple’s wedding dreams come true when their wedding venue was left with no electricity following Hurricane Helene

 

Toyosi and Tyler Hobbs had planned a dream wedding in the mountains of Boone, North Carolina, and family and friends traveled from around the country to attend. But unexpected power and water outages in the area following Hurricane Helene forced their wedding venue, the Crestwood Inn, to cancel the wedding reservation. Luckily, the couple’s wedding planner and several helpful vendors scrambled to save the day, moving the ceremony to the Horton Hotel, which had managed to regain power and water just in time for the big event.

 

Read the full story on ABC 11: Hurricane Helene forces Garner couple to scramble, pivot wedding plans in western North Carolina

6. Wedding guests hike over downed power lines and fallen trees to make it to cousin’s ceremony

 

Wedding guests Casey and Tess Kvale traveled from Buffalo, New York, to Asheville, North Carolina to attend a cousin’s ceremony. But when Hurricane Helene left them with no power, no wifi, and no clear roads to travel, the couple got creative. They drove as far as they could, then hiked the remaining distance to the venue, crossing downed power lines and fallen trees on the way. Of the 60 planned guests, only 6 were able to make it to the ceremony, including Casey and Tess.

 

Read the full story on WKBW ABC 7 Buffalo: 'An incredibly helpless feeling': 3 WNY families share their stories from Hurricane Helene

7. NYC couple whose North Carolina wedding was canceled by Hurricane Helene throws a fundraiser for survivors instead

 

NYC couple Molly Frye and Joel Brown are both originally from North Carolina, and planned to have a large second wedding (vow renewal ceremony) in Fletcher, North Carolina close to their friends and family. When they learned of the devastation in the area, and that their hotel rooms had been given away to house first-responders, Frye says their “brains clicked,” and they realized that “a wedding is not a priority with these people getting back on their feet.” They decided to throw a fundraiser in their Brooklyn neighborhood instead, with all proceeds going to help families impacted by the storm.

 

Read the full story by Pix 11 here: Couple delays wedding to host fundraiser for Hurricane Helene. Or watch television coverage of the story in this video.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by The Whiskey Annex (@thewhiskeyannex)

8. First Responders in North Carolina elope with a tiny, casual ceremony after Hurricane Helene cancels their wedding plans

 

A first responder couple in western North Carolina – Henderson County Rescue Squad Public Information Officer Rhonda Chislaghi and retired Skyland Fire Department Division Chief Eric Barnwell –  had planned to get married in Glacier National Park, in Montana. But when Hurricane Helene put those plans on hold, the couple decided to elope in a tiny, casual ceremony at the Buncombe County Supply Distribution Center. They were joined in the impromptu warehouse wedding by friends and family. 

 

Read the full story by WBTV here: First responder couple doesn’t let hurricane put damper on wedding

9. When an Ohio couple’s destination wedding in Florida is canceled by Hurricane Milton, local community members step up to save the day

 

Gabrielle Lavorata and Kyle Bialosky planned to get married in a destination beach wedding in Florida, before Hurricane Milton forced them to cancel the oceanside ceremony. Thanks to the helpful suggestion of a stranger at a hair salon in their hometown, thoughtful vendors, and lucky timing on event permits, the couple was able to hold their ceremony in a new venue, Firefly Farm, in Canfield, Ohio. 

 

Watch the full story on WKBN 27: Local couple pivots after Milton tanks wedding plans

10. This Florida couple evacuated ahead of Hurricane Milton to take their marriage vows on a symbolic date

 

Tyler and Kayla Fite had the perfect wedding date in mind: October 10th, which symbolized the No.10 they’d both played on team sports as kids. But when they learned that Hurricane Milton was scheduled to make landfall in Siesta Keys that day, where their beach wedding would be held, they decided to evacuate the area. The couple left town and headed to where family and friends were waiting for them, and took their marriage vows in safety on the special day. 

 

Read the full story on WKRG: Sarasota couple evacuates ahead of Hurricane Milton to say ‘I do’
 

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