I'm Amy, and I love to plan and design events! Weddings, parties, corporate events - whatever the occasion, I love to make it fabulous. Thanks for stopping by! It's nice to meet you!
Unless you've been under a rock and missed the national news this week, then you already know that our beloved Nashville experienced a flood of catastrophic proportions last weekend. What you probably hadn't thought about, is that many couples were planning to get married that same weekend. You guessed it! One week ago, I was smack in the middle of trying to save a wedding from near disaster.
Before we get into the harrowing and sometimes funny moments that occurred over the weekend, let's take a moment to fully realize the impact that mother nature had on our fair city. It is being described as a 500-year Flood. I won't lie, I had to look this one up. Basically, it means that the odds of a flood of this proportion happening again in any single year is 0.2%. Let me repeat that. 0.2%. To say that we were caught of guard is an understatement. There were places full of water that no one ever imagined would flood. Places like Interstate-24.
Looking back, I should have realized on Saturday (this was a Sunday wedding) that we were going to be in for a wild ride. But, I was determined to play the optimism card and keep everyone positive. So, in the midst of rehearsal and reception set-up, I focused on the tasks at hand and paid little heed to the pouring rain. (The tornado sirens should have been a giant red flag also.) Reports of flooded streets slowly trickled back to me, but I was in a bubble of time with no internet access or television at the venue. We diligently placed tables, threw linens and set glassware and centerpieces. By early evening, it was time to head home. This is when the crisis at hand really sunk in. Images of rushing water and buildings floating down the interstate were all over the local TV stations.
Fast forward to Sunday morning. Our wedding venues were downtown, and so the entire bridal party and all of the immediate family were staying in a hotel nearby. They were able to easily get to the venues, so the show must go on. My two assistants and I decide to divide and conquer. One met me at the reception venue to put on the finishing touches. The other went straight to the ceremony venue, where she then spent the next five hours wading through water and directing wayward guests, family members and a renegade photographer. (We love you Ryan, you're just really crazy!)
Our greatest problem of the day was not a flooded building. Our crisis centered around all of the vendors, family members and bridal party members who were stranded and could not get to the wedding. Calls were streaming in one after another and we quickly realized that we would have a modified plan at best. By 10:30 a.m. we decided to delay all plans for a couple of hours while we watched the flooded streets and took inventory of what was still available.
Over the next hour, I received calls that the following people would not be able to get to the wedding:
- The ceremony musicians
- The band for the reception
- One bridesmaid and her parents who were staying near Opryland Hotel
- One groomsman
- Two flowergirls
- The wedding trolley
- The florist
- And, the officiant (actually he was MIA and we were very concerned for his safety)
So what's a girl to do? We weighed the pros and cons of what we did have available and what could be done to salvage the day. The main priority during all of this was everyone's safety. The bride and groom were amazingly calm and flexible all morning. We all agreed that no vendor, guest or family member should be placed in harm's way. And, since we had no officiant, we couldn't have a ceremony. (Or so we thought! But more on that later.) We did have a huge, delicious wedding cake, a coffee bar, a beautifully decorated reception venue, a partial menu from the caterer, and a full bar. By lunchtime, we decided to have the reception with those who were able to come to the venue. The ceremony would be postponed until a later date. Most of the immediate family and bridal party were from out of town, so they had no where to go and nothing to do while we waited. And who wants to see a perfectly good cake go to waste?
We put out an APB for everyone to meet at Houston Station at 2:00 and the party would begin. Now here's where things get a little hairy. While I'm sorting out vendors and making an action plan, the groom decides to return to his home in Bellevue with one of the groomsmen. I'm not sure why he did this. Perhaps something forgotten that he couldn't live without. While at home, he realizes that rising water from a nearby river is getting precariously close to his house. I'm a little sketchy on what happened while he was there, but I do know that he seemed to be gone a long time. What's worse? The bride and his family are unable to reach him by cell phone. Tense times indeed!
Folks begin to trickle in to the reception venue. Since we had no band, the venue manager and our coffee guru set up a make-shift sound system and we "entertain" (I'm using this term loosely) guests with whatever CDs and Ipods we can scavenge. Will the bride and groom join us? Since he is MIA, we don't know. But lo and behold! If we find the groom, we may just be able to save the day and actually get them married. While the groom is missing, we manage to call every officiant we can think of looking for a replacement. Just when we thought it was a lost cause, the venue manager finds someone who might be able to get to us in 3 hours. O.k. so it's a remote possibility, but we have to try. Only now the bride doesn't know if she wants to go ahead with a make-shift ceremony. You know, the whole missing groom issue. So, we wait. Will he be found? And if so, will they still get married today?
I'll fill you in on Part 2 later this week. Oh the madness! Can you stand the suspense? I'll give you a little hint -- there is a bittersweet ending to this wedding story. Stay tuned!
I can't wait!!! Tell me now, did the groom show up? Did they get married? I would ask if the house flooded but I think I know the answer to that one!!
Posted by: Bridgette L | May 10, 2010 at 03:46 PM