Justin Murphy and his new bride, Katherine, had planned a glorious celebration of their love and life together, but Hurricane Irma had other plans for their oceanside wedding day. Read about how the couple’s resilience, love, and generosity touched hundreds of lives in the face of the storm –

Katherine and I started planning for our picture-perfect dream wedding well over a year ago – a sunset celebration on Clearwater Beach, FL on Saturday, September 9th. Just a week prior to our chosen date, we went into the Pinellas County Courthouse and obtained our marriage license. And, well into the week before Hurricane Irma hit, we were still hopeful that mother nature and the storm were going to make a turn in another direction. As the days passed, however, our concerns for the safety of our more than 150 guests from both near and far as well as local venue employees increased. The dangers became real and we started to consider our options to evacuate the Tampa area. On Wednesday, September 6th, our wedding event was officially cancelled. As challenging as that was, we kept our hopes up and our love remained stronger than ever.

Evacuation notifications began to spread, and we learned local government offices would be closed ahead of the storm, too. Thursday morning the 7th came and with heavy, yet strong hearts, we were determined to see our lifelong commitment to each other through. Katherine put on her beautiful wedding dress, did her hair and makeup while I found a suit stashed away in the closet. We met in the living room of our home and shared a few tears as we experienced our true “first look.” Meanwhile, my mother ran out and found a bouquet for Katherine to carry. It was emotional for us all, and yet, so beautiful. With my mother and our son as our witnesses, we were married on the afternoon of Thursday, September 7th. While it was not quite under the beautiful sunset of Clearwater Beach, it was a true testament of the strong love we share today and alwaysl.