Jake and Elizabeth Landuyt’s wedding day got off to a wonderful start, but just minutes after the reception someone shouted “Fire!”
As the bride’s father was in the middle of a toast, billows of smoke seeped into the tent reception held on May 30th on Mackinac Island, Michigan.
Panicked employees and wedding guests watched as thick, ash-gray clouds rose from the 120-year-old house next door, which they quickly realized was on fire.
All 120 guests were abruptly told to leave. No sooner had it started than the party was over.
“It all happened so quickly,” said Elizabeth, 28. “We were in shock.”
When the fire brigade arrived and worried wedding guests were scattered across the streets, the bride and groom were speechless. Above all, they are deeply concerned about the family in the burned-out house on the tiny island, which has fewer than 500 inhabitants.
After the fire – triggered by a chimney – was under control and it was clear that no one would be harmed, the newlyweds decided to go for a walk alone. They strolled to the nearby church where they had just said “yes” for a moment of comfort in the midst of the hustle and bustle.
“We were just grateful that everyone was fine and we were just trying to accept what happened and appreciate that we still had a good day,” said Elizabeth, a healthcare software analyst.
Still, “we didn’t want it to be over,” says Jake, 28, an industrial engineer. “We tried to extend the wedding and hold on to the positive.”
So Jake played her favorite song on his phone and grabbed his wife’s hand. As Tim McGraw’s “She’s My Kind of Rain” echoed through the hollow church hall, the couple, who first met in their junior year at the University of Michigan and now live near Detroit, shared their first dance.
Little did they know, however, that soon they would have a proper first dance with all of their family and friends. As the couple slowly moved around the empty church, an army of wedding guests, strangers, and local business people quickly rallied to remodel their wedding reception in a completely new location.
“It came from the heart”
The effort began when Brandon Sheldon, the general manager of Mission Point Resort, which is three blocks from the original venue, walked past the burning building – and spotted the crowd outside in wedding attire.
Sheldon called the resort’s CEO on his day off, who agreed to invite the entire wedding party to continue the celebration there – free of charge.
“We were fortunate that we were in the right place at the right time, that we had the space available,” said Sheldon.
Since the resort where the couple was staying this weekend was not sufficiently staffed for a wedding, the team present that day jumped in to make the spontaneous event run smoothly.
“We had a bellboy who offered to be a bartender, we had a housekeeper who had just finished her day and occupied all the tables with buses. The security guards moved beer and goods from our warehouses to the function rooms, ”said Sheldon, who also worked that evening.
Providing the venue “was the way to go,” said Liz Ware, vice president of sales and marketing for the resort. “It came from the heart with no expectation.”
After the new location was set up, wedding guests, passers-by, and several local shops rushed to bring the party back to life. Since there are no cars on the island, people lugged everything for the wedding – from food to decorations – on foot and by bike.
“It was this lovely group work to make things happen,” said Ware.
When a separate hotel near the original reception got wind of the revised reception schedule, the owner offered their kitchen – and staff – to help cook the partially cooked meals for the wedding guests.
“We took six people out of the dining service and finished cooking the meal,” said Todd Callewaert, owner of the Island House Hotel.
Of course, the sudden flood of dishes that had to be cooked slowed down his restaurant that evening, said Callewaert, but it didn’t bother anyone.
“Neighbors are neighbors,” he said. “There’s no competition between anyone. We’re all in it together, that’s just how we work.”
Tim McCleery, the chef at the Mackinac Island Yacht Club, where the reception was originally held, said he was very grateful for the assistance, although he was not the least bit surprised to receive it.
“It was an island job,” said McCleery. “Everyone came together in a crisis.”
His staff, as well as those of the Island House Hotel, carried numerous hot trays of halibut, filet mignon, mashed potatoes, and asparagus on luggage carts down to the makeshift reception, where guests and locals configure the pavilion to work the wedding.
Several shops and restaurants nearby contributed to the event by supplying plates and utensils, flowers, linens, and other decorations to spruce up the space. People also transported some items from the original venue, including the cake stand, centerpieces, a University of Michigan guest book, and pouffe – a nod to the location where the couple met.
“People put everything back together in an hour or so,” said Kate Darrow, 23, the bride’s maid of honor and sister. “When everything was set up, the fire seemed like a completely different day.”
In fact, “I would have gone and seen it, I would have thought they had been planning the wedding there all along,” said Andrew Smith, 28, one of the groomsmen. “It all came together and in the end it was perfect.”
A whole new party
After the room had been remodeled and the guests had taken their seats, the only thing missing was the bride and groom, who were still in the church and had no idea that a second reception was being organized.
Two of the groomsmen went to get the bride and groom.
“When you’re ready, we’ll have another party down the street,” they said.
The couple wasn’t sure what to expect: “We didn’t know if it would be a handful of our guests and a case of beer or the whole wedding party,” Jake said.
They made their way to the resort and when they entered the pavilion, “I was incredulous. My jaw dropped,” said Elizabeth, adding that both she and her husband had instantly burst into tears. “It was so nice.”
Her husband called the moment “completely overwhelming”.
“There have been so many people who just went out of their way to help,” he said, adding, “It’s impossible to describe how much love we felt in that moment and still feel that.”
