Thunder, lightning and a wedding blessed by nature
Iwent to a wedding on Saturday and almost got struck by lightning. It turned out to be one of most memorable weddings I’ve ever attended. Here’s the back story: A friend of mine was getting married at an area venue on Saturday. My friend is from Rome, but the venue was in Rockmart.
I wasn’t technically invited to the wedding, but I didn’t crash, either.
I went as one of the bridesmaid’s “plus one.”
Let me set the scene. This venue was absolutely beautiful. You pull into the parking lot and a golf cart is waiting to shuttle you to the ceremony site, which is a magnificent pavilion beside a lake. It’s surrounded by woods and is just the perfect place to get married.
But anyhow, my friends and I got there just in time and had thought it would be a hundred degrees. We were ready to sweat.
But lo and behold and as soon as the golf cart dropped us off at the beautiful pavilion, the clouds turned black and the wind picked up.
Now the pavilion has a pretty high roof and the sides are all open to the elements. Let me say that the structure is very well crafted. We’re sitting on these very nice pews and the wedding’s about to start. But so is the storm.
The wind has picked up. It’s knocking over flowers and signs and there’s a general murmur going around the pavilion. People are started to get concerned.
The wedding party lines up in the back and suddenly it starts drizzling a little. The family is escorted in and then the groom and his groomsmen walk down the aisle. Everyone looks fantastic.
Now it starts raining just a little bit more and the bride appears escorted by her dad and her stepdad. She looked absolutely beautiful. I guess I thought that with the weather turning so nasty right as she’s about to get married, that she’d be crying or frustrated or angry, but she had a wonderful smile on her face and was taking it all in stride.
As soon as she’s escorted into the pavilion, the rain begins pouring down around us. But like I said, even though there are no walls, the rain isn’t coming in yet. It’s pouring down but we’re fine.
The pastor and bridal party are up in the front of the pavilion with the lake behind them and the wind whipping up now. The trees near the pavilion are swaying and we can hear the lightning and thunder approaching.
The guests are all a little worried but the bride and groom don’t seem phased at all. They’re here for each other and that’s all that matters.
So as the pastor begins speaking and conducting the ceremony, the storm seems to hover right above us. The lightning is cracking and the thunder’s booming and guests are instinctively ducking their heads at the sound. It seems like the storm is right on top of us.
But still the bride is smiling beautifully and the preacher continues.
At this point, I’m just glad it’s not a hundred degrees. I’m actually enjoying the weather. It’s making for quite an exciting time.
The ceremony doesn’t take long at all, and as the pastor asks the groom to put the ring on the bride’s finger a massive lightning bolt cracks right above us. Everyone ducks down. Some people exclaim and a little kid is scared and begins crying.
All the lights on my side of the pavilion are blown out. There are about six hanging lanterns, each containing three or four of those Edison light bulbs, and they’re all blown out.
Up in the front, the lights just above the groomsmen spark and smoke a little but they’re completely focused on the task at hand. None of them flinch.
I’m still expecting the bride and groom to have some sort of frustrated or disappointed looks on their faces because it had been sunny and hot all day right up until they got ready to tie the knot and this massive storm comes barreling down on them. But no, they stare at each other and are smiling the entire time. I think that put everyone else at ease when we saw how well they were handling it.
With the wind whipping people’s hair and knocking things over and the lighting and thunder booming overhead, with the rain beating down on the roof of the pavilion, they said their “I do’s” and kissed and the ceremony was all over.
But now it was time to leave. We had to go back to the reception site, which was in another part of the property. So the big covered golf carts had to make several trips back and forth to get everyone out of the pavilion.
The rain was still pouring down as my friends and I jumped on the golf cart. We had to sit close in the wet seat to avoid the rain. A pregnant lady sat in my lap so she wouldn’t have to sit on the wet seat.
Then as our golf cart sputtered around the lake and did its best to climb the steep hills, our driver, a young girl, said “Sorry y’all, I don’t really know how to do this.”
I couldn’t believe that I had survived being out in that lightning storm only to die because this golf cart was about to go careening off the edge of the road and into the lake.
But it didn’t. We made it to the reception building and ate some of the most delicious wedding food I’ve ever had — including shrimp and grits, fried chicken and a roast that was out of this world.
If you had told me hours before that a massive lightning storm would hit at the exact time of the ceremony, I would have said “postpone the ceremony.” But looking back on it, I honestly can say that somehow it was perfect. It made for a very memorable and exciting wedding.
My buddy commented that the new couple’s bond was made stronger since it had been forged in lightning and thunder. And I guess I can believe that.
So if you’re getting married and you’re afraid the weather might ruin everything, don’t get discouraged. Sometimes mother nature has a way of blessing your event in ways you never expected.
This is certainly a wedding I’ll remember for a very long time.
Congratulations the bride and groom — thanks for letting me crash your very special day.
Severo Avila is Features Editor for the Rome News-Tribune.