KENT COUNTY, Mich. — There's an old saying about rain on your wedding day.
A West Michigan woman is scrambling to save hers after Hurricane Melissa, which has strewn death and widespread devastation on its path through the Caribbean, dashed her best laid plans for a destination wedding.
"You never think a hurricane is going to come on your wedding day," said Katie Papke, a Grand Rapids Township resident. "Rain, maybe, but not a hurricane."
This weekend, Papke and her fiance, Donnie Green, were set to fly out to Dream Rose Hall Resort & Spa in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where they planned on saying their vows in a small, sandy ceremony. Papke had packed white flip-flops. Green was going to wear beach attire.
Two weeks prior to their departure, though, the couple's wedding planner told them about a tropical storm picking up strength and speed in the Caribbean. On Tuesday, when Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica with Category 5 wind speeds, Papke called off the trip.
"A wedding ruined is definitely not comparable to what's happening [in Jamaica]," Papke said. "Absolutely not."
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To donate to the Government of Jamaica's emergency appeal, click here.
"My heart goes out to them and their families, their places of residence, their businesses," she said.
Still, Papke and her fiance wanted to save the date (Monday, November 3), leaving them with less than a week to land a new venue and everything else that comes with saying, "I do."
"November 3 is really significant to me," Papke said. "I will be celebrating 25 years of sobriety and my fiance, Donnie, is really supportive of all of that."
"So that's why we want to keep the date instead of reschedule," she said.
The same day the couple canceled their plans at the resort, Papke's sister put up a Facebook post. She went looking for help and wound up finding a lot of willing people.
"I was so overwhelmed with the amount of responses from the Grand Rapids community," Papke said.
Perhaps most notably, Frederick Meijer Gardens said on Wednesday it would be willing to accommodate the wedding, a relief for the rapidly (re)planning bride-to-be.
"Love will prevail. If there is a will, there's a way, and we'll make it happen," Papke said.
To offer your services for the wedding of Katie Papke and Donnie Green, contact November3bride@gmail.com.
To learn more about how to help those affected by Hurricane Melissa, click here to donate to United Way of Jamaica, click here to support Project Hope's Emergency Response Team in Jamaica or click here to read the Associated Press' report on charitable efforts in the Caribbean.
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