It was the most beautiful early spring day in my sweet hometown of Crockett, Texas when Chris dropped to one knee and asked "will you marry me?!" And so it all begins....
The date was set for September 14, 2013 at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO. Chris had vacationed there most of his life and when we went to visit I fell in love. It was picturesque, different, and a place we believed our guests would remember forever. We made several trips to Estes throughout the planning process. Yes, planning a destination wedding is as difficult as you can imagine. Lucky for me I had my amazing mother who was on top of it all. She even discovered that our hometown dentist has a daughter-in-law, Rami Carter, living in Denver who happens to be a wedding planner! We were able to quickly snatch her up and from that point on things seemed to just be falling into place…or so we thought.
Finally wedding week was here! All the final details had been completed and Mom and I could not have been more excited! We loaded up the Winnebago full of everything we couldn’t take on the plane with us which consisted of the wedding dress, tuxedos, wedding rings, boots, and then my parents hit the road. They drove from Texas to Denver and made it to Estes late Tuesday night around 10:00 pm. They had rented a cabin for the week at Aspen Brook Vacation Homes. It was a beautiful cabin located only a few feet from the Big Thompson River. It was pouring down rain when they arrived but that did not stop the property manager from calling my parents and forcing them to remove the Winnebago from the premises. They begged and pleaded with him which only seemed to ignite his anger. With nowhere else to go they parked the RV at Chris' family cabin 7 miles up the mountain with plans to go up and get our belongings the next day.
The weather forecast showed 20% chance of rain for the weekend which was not the news I wanted to hear, however, there is always a plan B for weddings and we had ideas for what we would do if we were rained out. Chris and I flew up Wednesday and the guys had plans for his bachelor party that night.
The guy’s cabin was located on the beautiful Estes Park Golf Course. Chris spent that day and night with the guys and I stayed at my parent’s cabin drinking champagne with my mom and future sister-in-law. The rain really started to pick up over night and by the time morning came the Big Thompson river that was once a few feet away from our cabin was now nearly to the door. They were advising residents to evacuate and from that point on all cell service was down. We decided to pack up all of our stuff and head to some friends of ours, Mr. and Mrs. Larue, who have a condo up the mountain.
I hadn't talked or seen Chris since the day before and I was really beginning to worry. Roads were washing away which made it difficult to drive. Finally late Thursday afternoon Chris walked in the door of the condo. All the electricity was off at their cabin and the roads had all washed away. The guys were trapped in their cabin with no more food or a way to drive out.
At that point I still had a great deal of hope. I believed there was still enough time for the storm to pass before Saturday and can remember telling myself "well it can't get any worse" and boy was I wrong. For the rest of that night and all day Friday we sat in our friend’s condo and waited as the town of Estes flooded our dreams of any wedding that weekend.
By Friday the whole town was under water. All roads into and out of Estes Park had been washed away by raging waters leaving us trapped in and the rest of our family, bridesmaids, vendors, and friends stuck in Denver.
It felt very much like I was in a bad dream....a nightmare. No way was this really happening. I could not get out of my head the words that were spoken over and over again on the news. "Biblical flood…500 year flood.” By Friday evening we got word that the town of Estes Park had cancelled all weddings for the weekend. At that point, Chris and I wanted nothing more
than to be married and out of Estes Park.
I have always believed that a bad situation can be altered by the way you choose to react to it. I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and I prayed a lot for God's strength and understanding. Friday night was rehearsal dinner night. We decided to gather up everyone who was in Estes and head on over to the restaurant as planned. The road up the mountain to the RV had washed away as well so my family could not get to their clothes. We all decided to throw on what belongings we did have with us and head to the restaurant.
When we got there Chris' mom and close friend, Mrs. Gayler, had done an amazing job of making it look just as planned. They made beautiful flower arrangements from flowers they bought at Safeway. We all ate dinner and watched the slide show of pictures from when Chris and I were little. I can't tell you how hard it was to watch that slideshow with none of my friends there to laugh with me. But Chris and I decided that night we were not leaving without being married. After dinner my mom and Chris' grandmother, Dee, searched the town for any pastor willing to marry us. They discovered that all churches were evacuation centers so there was no luck in finding a church to get married in the next day. By the grace of God we found Bill Huth. Bill is a pastor in Estes Park who's mother just so happens to live in Nacogdoches, TX which is where we are from. We later discovered that Bill's wife, Linda, graduated high school with my father in Crockett, TX. It really is amazing how God does it. Mr. Huth agreed to marry us the next day at the Estes Park Resort on the Lake.
It was Saturday, wedding day. All the roads were still closed and we still could not drive up the mountain to where the RV was parked. My brother, his fiancé, and my father-in-law offered to hike up the mountain to get our wedding rings so we could have them for the ceremony. I decided not to try to wear my wedding dress. It would have been too difficult for them to hike 4 miles down the mountain in the rain and flooded waters with a white wedding dress! Luckily my mom and I found a bridal shop that was open while the others were hiking up the mountain. She let us in and I found a beautiful dress that suited the situation perfectly. From there, we headed to the lodge for the ceremony.
The weather was beautiful. The sun was shining and skies were blue. We had a wonderful ceremony out by the lake with the friends and family that were able to make it. While saying our vows I heard someone yell "We're here!" I look up and see the big smiling face of my younger brother, his girlfriend Katie, our Pastor Tim and his wife Tammy. It was just like a scene from a movie! Apparently one of the roads had opened up and they were letting people in and out of Estes. We were told if the roads closed again they would not reopen for another week. We finished up the ceremony and all decided the best thing to do was to get out of Estes and head for Denver. The guys were able to make it up to the RV and brought it down the mountain to the condo. We loaded everything up and all headed for Denver.
Chris and I spent our wedding night at the Magnolia Hotel in downtown Denver. We had a wonderful dinner at the restaurant Panzanos, where they served us a 5 course meal on the house. We spent the next week on our honeymoon in Antigua where we recuperated with white sand and frozen drinks! We laid on the beach thinking about how unbelievable the situation was, how thankful we were that everyone was safe, and thinking about plans for another wedding back home with friends and family and my wedding dress!
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