Hurricane Irene washes out wedding

1st September 2011

An American wedding was literally washed out by Hurricane Irene when the only road out of town was destroyed by rising waters.

Marc and Janina Leibowitz were married in Pittsfield, Vermont on Saturday just before Irene hit. They had expected heavy rains as the storm passed nearby, but instead the river right outside the bridal cottage burst its banks and washed away the road leading in and out of town.

The bride and groom, along with 60 of their guests and 400 town residents have been trapped in Pittsfield since Sunday morning. Many of the guests were from New York City, the target of the Hurricane, and were thankful to be away and out of the main path of Irene.

After waking on Sunday morning, the bride and groom and several of the bridesmaids managed to race across the bridge before it collapsed, leaving all of the groomsmen and one bridesmaid trapped on the other side. The groomsmen rigged up ladders to allow people to cross the flooded stream and the remains of the bridge, enabling them to hike in food, water and supplies.

The stranded wedding party and guests have been pitching in to help town residents by clearing mud and debris, and bringing food and water to elderly residents.

If Marc and Janina had held their wedding a day later, they would most likely have had to cancel when the venue was washed away by the floodwaters and hurricane, which heightens the importance of having Wedding Insurance in place.

Luckily, they managed to still have the wedding ceremony and reception they had planned, with an interesting tale of courage and cooperation for the events following their big day which will be told for many years to come.