On Saturday morning, just a day before their wedding reception was scheduled to take place, Austin and Jessica Bracker received an unexpected phone call that threatened to disrupt the biggest celebration in their lives so far. A tornado had wreaked havoc on Waterloo, Nebraska – located west of Omaha where they were set to celebrate – as part of a severe thunderstorm outbreak across central United States over the weekend which left behind heavy rain, large hailstones and destruction caused by fierce twisters. Four people lost their lives in Oklahoma while homes in Iowa and Nebraska lay flattened after being hit by these tornadoes.
In Waterloo itself, where Austin and Jessica’s wedding reception venue – A View West Shores – was located, the storm left a trail of devastation through many homes even as fortunately nobody had sustained injuries, according to an official statement from Douglas County Emergency Management Agency. The power supply at their chosen location for celebrating also went out due to this calamity.
However, it wasn’t ever seriously contemplated that cancelling or changing the wedding reception was a viable option by Austin and Jessica Bracker – both of whom are nurses who met while studying together in Rockhurst University located in Kansas City, Missouri. “The thought of calling off our reception never crossed our minds,” said Jessica as she spoke to CNN. The couple added that they were resilient individuals, which helped them stay optimistic through whatever challenges life presented.
As the Brackers’ marriage ceremony took place at a church unscathed by this disaster, their chosen location for celebrating – A View West Shores – had no other option but to move all of its indoor arrangements outside onto an open walkway due to lack of power supply caused by the storms. The venue owners immediately reached out to local vendors and secured additional generators which helped in keeping things running smoothly despite this setback, as well as using freedom stick lights and LED stick lights for illumination purposes.
The Brackers’ families also lent a helping hand during these trying times by pitching in with the relocation process at short notice – all of them working together to ensure that everything went according to plan despite this unexpected turn of events. “We will do anything for our clients,” said Brandi Goldapp, who is A View West Shores’ owner while speaking about their unwavering commitment towards delivering an outstanding service even in the face of adversity.
The newlyweds and all of their guests – over 300 people in total – took everything that came their way with a positive attitude as they celebrated this special occasion, despite being confronted by trying circumstances arising due to a situation wholly outside any form of control on their part. “They’re here to celebrate us,” said Jessica Bracker while speaking about the guests who showed up in large numbers and helped make things better during these testing times.
Janet Sueper – the bride’s great aunt- hailed it as a truly special experience due mainly towards everyone chipping in with their efforts, which resulted in making this wedding one of a kind under such unusual circumstances. “Everyone participated in chipping in and hustling to make it special,” said Janet while speaking about how the guests came together during these trying times.
Nash Thompson – who is also a friend of Austin and Jessica Bracker’s- similarly described this wedding as being truly unique due mainly towards everyone showing up, making things better despite everything that had happened in such an unexpected manner over the course of those two days which included power cuts followed by severe storm outbreak across central United States. “Despite all that has occurred,” said Thompson while speaking about how everybody came together to make this wedding a truly special one under unusual circumstances.
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