Kaitlyn Thompson and Tyler Grant both 25 years old of Benton County, Washington, were so excited to get married Saturday October 11th on Kaitlyn's family farm. Months of preparation had gone into creating the perfect wedding at the Thompson family’s farm and both families working hard to setup tents tables, a stage
Early Friday morning out of nowhere a 60 MPH wind storm popped up for less than 10 minutes massive storm and destroyed the entire setup.
Kaitlyn said "I was heartbroken for my husband and dad, who spent hundreds of hours setting up the tents and doing all of the preparation work. I also was heartbroken for my mom, Aunt Amee, and all the others who had put their love and effort into setting up the tables, chairs, decorations, centerpieces, etc."
Tyler says "I immediately went to work to try to save the things we could. From 2:30 to 7:00 a.m., a group of about a dozen family members and friends went through the wreckage to save any decorations we could".
"We also need an action plan on how we could save this wedding".
The maid of honor and Kaitlyn began calling all the wedding venues praying for a miracle that there might be an opening on a Saturday which also happened to be tomorrow.
The maid of honor eventually called one of the most popular venues Sugar Pine Barn in Benton City. Apparently there had been a cancellation and now they're open for the next day. It was the venue’s only Saturday open this entire year! More than 50 of the bride and groom’s loved ones came together to make the wedding happen, moving supplies, decorating and preparing the new venue in less than 24 hours.
On Friday night the exhausted couple talked about how amazing it was that they were still going to have a great wedding for their 250 guests but also how disappointing it was to miss out on what would have been a very meaningful ceremony on the families property. Kaitlyn's dad pointed out that the 100-year-old grain silo for the farm had survived and we can actually get you married there right now. So at 10:30 they exchanged vows at one of the only part of their original wedding plan that survived the storm. "This silo has survived many storms, and what a perfect place for where Tyler and I can set our strong foundation through our vows for our marriage," Kaitlyn says. "The silo is a true testament that no matter how strong the storm is, it is truly the people we have and the firm foundation of life we create that allows us to withstand the storm."
The next day, every single guests arrived despite the venue change and the wedding started on time. Kaitlyn's mom said "This wedding made a statement. As a community, with love, hope and hard work, we can make anything work."