Hurricane Harvey victims get wedding of their dreams for free
ALVIN, Texas (KTRK) -- Chloe Bennett and Timothy Watterreus were busy preparing for their wedding when Hurricane Harvey struck in August. But like many Houstonians, their plans were put on hold by the destructive storm.
Their Kingwood home took on six feet of water, and the couple lost nearly everything inside. Floodwaters also ravaged the shop where Bennett's wedding dress was being altered, and the couple also lost all of their ceremony and reception decorations.
After the storm, the couple put off their wedding plans to focus on rebuilding their life -- but the kindness of strangers set their wedding plans back in motion.
Wedding coordinator Kristina Cox heard about the Chloe and Timothy's story and sprang into action to help them re-plan their wedding.
"When I heard Chloe's story on Facebook notifying their family that her wedding was destroyed, it broke my heart! From that moment, we were determined to give their family a celebration after all they'd just gone through," Cox said.
Celebrate & Communicate at Morgan Falls jumped in to host and coordinate the ceremony for 75 people free of charge, bringing on vendors to make the day special and promising the couple surprises on their big day.
The couple tied the knot on Saturday evening, and their wedding looked beautiful!
The following vendors donated services for the ceremony: Venue and Wedding Coordination: Celebrate & Communicate at Morgan Falls Event Center (venue and wedding coordination), ClearShutter (photography), The Red Experience (wedding party florals and decor), On Cloud 9 Events (linens and ceremony chairs), Shirley Mutina S&L Enterprises (centerpieces), Southern Spirits (bartending), Duchess Sweet Delights (wedding cake), Flawless Entertainment & Productions (DJ), Dean Whaley (officiant), Holiday Inn Express Alvin (honeymoon hotel) and TX CO BBQ (catering).
Cox has also set up a GoFundMe account to help the couple rebuild their life.
https://abc13.com/society/harvey-victims-get-wedding-of-their-dreams-for-free/2505270/
Morgan Falls News Coverage
Bride and groom hit hard by Hurricane Harvey gets free wedding of their dreams By ELIZA MURPHY
"It was amazing. I felt not only beautiful but so immensely blessed."
— -- A bride and groom who were hit hard by Hurricane Harvey got a free wedding of their dreams.
Chloe and Tim Waterreus of Kingwood, Texas, were resigned to the fact their original wedding wouldn’t be possible. It was planned for the weekend after Harvey hit, which destroyed their home and any hopes of a celebration.
“The wedding was supposed to take place Sept. 2, 2017, here at my family’s house. We had everything ready,” Chloe Waterreus, 22, told ABC News. “We had all the décor, invitations, everyone RSVP’d. We were so excited.”
Harvey flooded their home with six feet of water, causing the couple to divert their attention to survival instead of their big day.
“We had a boat come into our living room to take us out. It was a really crazy experience with the hurricane,” Chloe Waterreus recalled. “While it was heartbreaking and sad and all those negative emotions, I still had my family and my mom and my dad and two little sisters. I had them, and I had Tim. I told myself, ‘I’m going to appreciate what I have right now and I’m not going to push my luck. I’m not going to be a bridezilla.’”
Wanting to do whatever they could to help, some of the couple’s close friends contacted planner Kristina Cox to organize a new ceremony and reception for Oct. 7.
“When I heard about how her wedding was destroyed, it pulled on my heartstrings,” Cox told ABC News. “I wanted to do everything I could to put those bad memories behind her and give her a dream wedding."
She helped rally a group of vendors to surprise the humbled bride and groom with a new venue, decorations, cake, flowers and photography.
Cox said she just opened a new wedding venue, Celebrate & Communicate at Morgan Falls in Alvin, Texas, which she was elated to share with the newlyweds.
“My whole thought process on this is, we’re blessed to be a blessing,” said Cox. “Words can’t describe it how it felt to see their joy and excitement. That topped any event we’ve ever done. We were able to make a bad situation much better.”
Much to the bride’s astonishment, she still got to wear her original wedding dress despite thinking it had been destroyed in the storm too.
“My dress was stuck at the tailor for alterations,” said Chloe Waterreus. “The lady reached out to my mom and said, ‘I rescued her dress.’ She had it dry-cleaned. I got to salvage my dress. It was the one thing that was mine during the wedding which meant so much.”
Much to the bride’s astonishment, she still got to wear her original wedding dress despite thinking it had been destroyed in the storm too.
“My dress was stuck at the tailor for alterations,” said Chloe Waterreus. “The lady reached out to my mom and said, ‘I rescued her dress.’ She had it dry-cleaned. I got to salvage my dress. It was the one thing that was mine during the wedding which meant so much.”
“It was amazing. I felt not only beautiful but so immensely blessed,” his bride added.
Chloe Waterreus said she and her husband are both still in shock at everyone’s generosity.
“I don’t know how many tears about it I’ve cried. It was magical. So many people helped us to save us,” she said.
As Seen on Good Morning America: https://yhoo.it/2Oo7Fbq
