Dorian's disruption brings creative help for vows

Turner Studios fills in fine after storm cancels Charleston wedding.

While Hurricane Dorian took no lives in Georgia, the destructive storm nearly wiped out one of the most important days in the lives of two Atlantans.

Destinee Clavon is from South Carolina and fell in love with Charleston when she lived there as a young adult. Because it was close for family and friends, it made sense to plan her wedding there — until the news reports about Dorian started appearing.

At first, she and her fiance, Anthony Baker, hoped the historic city would be spared, but eventually it became clear that it was in the hurricane’s path.

They had to cancel their wedding.

“We were trying to keep the hope alive,” Clavon said early Friday afternoon.

Then, something unexpected happened.

Colleagues at Turner Studios, where both work — she in operations management and he as a graphic artist — turned one of the studios into a wedding scene. Instead of cameras, there were flowers. In the place of soccer and baseball analysts stood bridesmaids and groomsmen.

“We have the whole wedding experience here in two days,” she said, sounding amazed just before the ceremony. “It took me a year to plan my wedding.”

Some family and friends couldn’t make it after canceling their flights to Charleston, but some did. At about 3 p.m. Friday, the ceremony started, and Destinee Clavon is now Destinee Baker.

The couple is looking forward to a trip to Universal Studios in Orlando. He promised to take her to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter when they were first dating, since she is a fan.

Diagon Alley can be magical at night, with charming lighting and the occasional dragon’s breath, but, she said, the destination was not their first choice for a honeymoon.

As with their wedding, Dorian made them improvise.

“We were supposed to go to the Bahamas,” she said.

D’MARCUS PULSE / TURNER STUDIOS Hurricane Dorian forced Destinee Clavon and Anthony Baker to cancel their wedding plans in Charleston, S.C., at the last minute. Instead, they got married in Atlanta where Turner Studies was transformed into a virtual seaside. The couple had planned to honeymoon in the Bahamas.

D’MARCUS PULSE / TURNER STUDIOS Destinee Clavon and Anthony Baker exchange vows at Turner Studios, where they both work.