Pandemics, Weddings, and Hurricanes
The perception of just how badly something sucks is often directly proportionate to how that something has impacted a person either directly or indirectly. In other words, Suckdom is highly subjective and entirely relative. 2020 may not technically be the worst year in recorded history, but I have no problem giving it the title of the suckiest year of the new millennium.
Here at WiscoFunny, we have all had COVID as a family and we were lucky enough to come through it relatively unscathed. Our hearts go out to those who have lost someone or lost their businesses or jobs due to COVID.
Two weeks prior to the company’s launch we flew to Florida to host a very small beach wedding for our oldest daughter. (I want to take this moment to share the love for The Beach House in Bradenton Beach Florida for being a spectacular venue and making a bride’s dreams come true in the middle of both a pandemic and a hurricane.) We are extremely cautious as it relates to COVID since we’ve all been through it, and we told anyone with any risk factors at all not to attend. After a family vote and talking it over with the bride and groom we agreed that come hell or high water the wedding must go on. Hurricane Eta must have been listening…
On a side note, the pandemic sort of numbs you to the feeling of disbelief when something else sucky happens in your life. You just sort of shrug and go. “whatever”.
We flew into Sarasota two days before the wedding and one day before then Tropical Storm Eta was to make landfall. At that point it still wasn’t clear what was going to happen with the storm so we got busy getting ready for the rehearsal at The Beach House. The day before the wedding Eta was upgraded to a category 1 hurricane. It was becoming crystal clear that Eta was going to be a problem. we just didn’t know how big of a wedding crasher she would be.
Hurricane Eta made landfall just a couple of hours before the wedding rehearsal was scheduled to start so the wedding venue had no choice but to close. My step-daughter called me as soon as she found out and I could hear the tension and anxiety in her voice. The plan had always been to have everyone over for an outdoor cookout after the rehearsal so this just accelerated everything. I told her not to worry, we had coolers loaded with beer and wine on standby and plenty of ice. I fired up the grill immediately and started cooking. It looked like everything was going to fall into place as the wedding party arrived...and then the power went out.
See my earlier comment about pandemics numbing you to anything else sucky that happens...We decided to hold the rehearsal to the light of cell phones held high while transformers were blowing up across the bay in the background. To say it was the craziest, yet most romantic wedding rehearsal ever is an understatement. No one who was there will ever forget it.
The next morning we awoke to sunshine and receded waters. The streets were full of debris but the skies were a beautiful blue. The wedding venue opened up and the rest of the wedding went off just as my stepdaughter had dreamt it. None of us could believe a hurricane had been whipping through just 12 hours before.
Check out this piece titled, "Only in Florida" by Fox 13's Chris Cato and watch to the end to see the beach cam of the beach 24 hours before the wedding, and then at the time of the wedding.
My step-daughter lit up the entire island as she stepped out onto that sugar white sand in her absolutely stunning wedding dress. Her dress literally out sparkled the ocean as her dad walked her down the aisle. We all collectively forgot for one brief moment about the pandemic, the suckiest year ever, and the hurricane.
I will end by saying that 2020 has sucked a fat one no doubt, but the wedding served as a wake up call that life isn’t over just because of COVID. We are also happy to report that everyone who braved the trip is healthy after a precautionary quarantine upon return.