Kimberly Laprad and Jayden Sink thought their wedding might end up as little more than a private photo session after a storm stranded most of their guests off North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
uncertain
storm → think → Banks
Instead, hundreds of strangers turned up to celebrate with them.
asserted
hundreds → turn → them
The couple had spent a year planning their Sept. 25 wedding on Hatteras Island, hoping to exchange vows on the beach.
asserted
couple → spend → beach
They had an indoor backup plan, but a nor’easter brought conditions far worse than expected.
asserted
nor’easter → have → conditions
Road access to the island was cut off and officials declared a state of emergency, leaving most of their 45 invited guests unable to reach the wedding, according to The Washington Post.
uncertain
officials → cut → Post
Laprad and Sink, both 24 and living in Roanoke, Virginia, had already made it to the island.
asserted
Laprad → live → island
Their vendors, including the musicians, cake provider, officiant and photographer, began cancelling as conditions worsened.
asserted
conditions → include → musicians
“It wasn’t just disappointing,” Sink said.
asserted
Sink → say → ?
The couple invited the whole island
The couple considered chartering a boat to bring their guests across, but abandoned the idea because conditions were too dangerous.
asserted
conditions → invite → idea
With their plans collapsing, they considered putting on their wedding clothes and taking photographs themselves.
asserted
they → collapse → photographs
“It would just have been a really expensive photo shoot,” Sink said.
asserted
Sink → say → ?
Then Laprad suggested something unexpected the night before the wedding.
uncertain
Laprad → suggest → wedding
“Let’s just invite the whole island,” she told Sink.
asserted
she → invite → Sink
The idea started as a joke, but a friend who had reached the island before access was blocked began sharing an invitation in local Facebook groups.
asserted
access → start → groups
Within about 20 minutes, hundreds of people said they planned to attend.
asserted
they → say → people
Dozens also offered food, cake, music and photography.
asserted
Dozens → offer → food
“We thought maybe 20 or 30 people would show up,” Sink said.
asserted
Sink → think → ?
“We didn’t think it would go viral.”
asserted
it → think → ?
The couple had originally planned to hold their wedding at the beachfront property they had rented.
asserted
they → plan → property
With hundreds of strangers interested in attending, they needed a bigger venue.
asserted
they → interest → venue
Local residents step in
Stacey Saunders, general manager of Frisco Woods Campground, saw the Facebook post and offered the couple the campground’s 38-acre property and pavilion for free.
Saunders, who has managed the campground for five years, is also an ordained minister and offered to officiate.
“I saw their Facebook post, and I was like, ‘I have the place, I have the means; if they can get to me, I can help them,’” she told the outlet..
asserted
she → step → outlet
Restaurants and caterers donated food, people brought several wedding cakes, and three photographers, a DJ and a florist provided their services for free.
asserted
photographers → donate → services
Hatteras Island has about 4,000 year-round residents, but the wedding drew far more people than the couple had expected.
asserted
couple → have → people
Laprad and Sink estimated that between 500 and 800 people attended, while about 460 strangers signed their guest book.
asserted
strangers → estimate → book
“Twenty four hours ago, we were all strangers,” Saunders said while officiating.
asserted
Saunders → say → ?
“Now, we’re not.”
asserted
we → ’re → ?
A wedding they never expected
Among the volunteers was Gwenyth Airhart, a professional wedding photographer from Luray, Virginia, who was vacationing on the island.
asserted
who → expect → island
After seeing a Facebook post about the couple, she decided to photograph the wedding.
asserted
she → see → wedding
“I just felt really bad for their situation, knowing how special a wedding is, and then just these extreme circumstances,” Airhart told the newspaper.
asserted
Airhart → feel → newspaper
She called it the most memorable wedding of her five-year career.
asserted
She → call → career
“I loved watching the outpouring of love that these random strangers had for this wonderful young couple,” she said.
asserted
she → watch → couple
Laprad, who grew up visiting Hatteras with her family, said the community had changed how she viewed the unexpected turn of events.
asserted
she → grow → events
“The people on this island have definitely restored our faith in humanity,” she said.
asserted
she → restore → humanity
The couple still wished their family and original guests could have attended, but said the wedding ultimately became something they would not have experienced otherwise.
uncertain
they → wish → ?
“I think it happened the way it was supposed to,” Laprad said.
asserted
Laprad → think → ?
“We all had a great time.”
asserted
We → have → time
“We made a lot of friends,” Sink said.
asserted
Sink → make → friends
The couple plans to return to Hatteras Island every year for their anniversary.
asserted
couple → plan → anniversary
They have also started an online fundraiser for a sidewalk construction project on the island to give back to the community.
asserted
They → start → community
The Aporia
