It was a beautiful spring day on Mackinac Island in Michigan when Elizabeth and Jake Landuyt tied the knot at a local church.
They headed over to the Mackanic Island Yacht Club to have their reception, and Elizabeth’s father had just begun his speech when there was a sudden interruption.
Fellow guests reported that a cottage next door had caught fire. Everyone hustled to evacuate the building as quickly as they could.
“I didn’t know where we were going,” Jake said. “I just figured we had to walk away from that.” Elizabeth added, “So we just started heading toward the church.”
The newlyweds and their guests sought shelter inside the church where they were wed as they figured out how to proceed. They assumed their big day was doomed to end prematurely. Little did they know, a team of total strangers was already working to make sure the show would go on!
Management reached out to neighboring businesses and asked for help. The resort next door happened to be free that day, so they agreed to host the wedding reception on the spot. Meanwhile, inside the yacht club’s kitchen, the head chef instructed their employees to wrap up all 120 meals and bring them over.
“We just ran with it,” a staff member said. “We just cooked it, sauced it, and off down the street it went.”
Other restaurants and businesses stepped up to lend them anything they didn’t have to ensure the event went off without a hitch. Since there are no cars on the island, every single napkin, fork, and plate had to be carried by hand!
“To have them pick up the reception out of ashes, in a very literal sense, made the wedding better than we ever could have imagined and one that, while we don’t necessarily recommend, it’s a day and an experience that we’ll cherish forever,” Jake said.
The couple and their wedding guests ended up having a wonderful time in spite of the drama! They were also left awestruck by the sheer kindness these total strangers showed them during a scary, uncertain time.
All of this unexpected goodness made for a truly unforgettable wedding day! It just goes to show there’s nothing we can’t do when we work together.
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