A Surprise Day-Of Venue Change Made for the Most Unforgettable Wedding Story of All Time

Lauren Megerdichian
July 22, 2020
Categories: Real Weddings, Romantic, The Blog

When a massive fire neighboring their wedding venue struck the night before their special day, friends, family, vendors and the entire community pulled together to make this couple’s dream day come true – no matter what. When I tell you this story is unlike anything we’ve ever heard here at SMP, please know we couldn’t be more serious… you’ll understand when you hear how it all went down yourself. Keep on scrolling and read every word from Everlee Event Studio detailing their day, it truly left us speechless. Oh, and don’t forget to check out the full gallery of imagery from Emily Foster Photo, when you see how gorgeous this day came to be – you would never believe the trials and tribulations it took to get there.

From Everlee Event Studio… August 17th, 2019 was Danielle Bouw & Nate Mitton’s magical, life changing wedding day. Located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Danielle’s family owns a massive plot of land surrounded by vineyards and flower farms – a perfect and naturally stunning location for a wedding. Danielle had been planning her wedding day in her mind for as long she could remember. As her wedding planner and best friend, I can vouch for this as well. Her bedroom in her family home has wedding decor and inspiration pictures plastered all over her walls from when she was young – it looks identical to what you would imagine a young girl would create. Danielle & Nate’s wedding did not go as planned and there were many curves in the road leading up to and on their wedding day. With the help of so many family members, friends, community members and vendors, we worked together to create an unforgettable day. A couple of months before Danielle & Nate’s wedding day, the family received news that Danielle’s father had a recurrence of a rare sinus cancer that left him blind in one eye the year prior.

The doctors alerted the family that the cancer was coming back stronger and that he was going to lose his vision in his second eye quickly. A few days later on Fathers Day weekend in 2019, Danielle surprised her father by revealing her wedding dress to him. Although what was left of his vision was blurry, Steve, Danielle’s father, was able to see his only daughter in her gown. Danielle chose to add butterfly appliques on the back of her dress so that her father could feel them as well. The week leading up to Danielle & Nate’s wedding day was full of activities preparing for their big day. There were so many DIY builds including a parking lot, seating chart, 16ft arch, signage, personalized thank you cards, a wooden bar, revamped wheelbarrows, and Nate’s proposal sign that he hand painted. The wedding was set to take place on the family property with the ceremony in their garden and the reception in their field under a beautifully lit tent. The evening before the wedding, all of Danielle’s bridesmaids and I were getting ready for bed when we heard a loud, booming noise outside of the family home. We didn’t think much of the noise until Danielle’s mother came out of her bedroom to look out front. The neighboring property is a flower farm called Pioneer Flower Farms and by an undetermined cause, caught on fire. The fire caused extensive damage to the 700,000 square foot greenhouse that was right next door. 27 firetrucks and 100 firefighters were trying to put out the fire and Danielle’s mother, brother and sister-in law stayed up all night trying to ensure their property wouldn’t be impacted by the blaze. Danielle & her bridesmaids left the property to sleep elsewhere and we all returned at 5:30am the morning of their special day! Unfortunately, the fire was still in full force and at approximately 6:30am the police came to the front door and told the family that the wedding would not be able to take place. It was a heartbreaking moment to experience watching all of the Danielle’s childhood dreams be torn away from her and the shock of her mother when Danielle told her the news. It was truly unfathomable. Without skipping a beat, the bridesmaids sprung into action to collect all of Danielle’s belongings. At that time, we didn’t know where they would be getting ready but we knew that this would not ruin their wedding day. Quickly, the bridesmaids, Danielle, the makeup artists and hairstylists changed locations to get ready at Danielle’s grandmothers home, only a few blocks away. The police allowed Danielle’s mother & father to stay at their home with me (the wedding planner) to gather the remaining assets. I called every wedding vendor to provide them the news and to let them know that the wedding was happening no matter what and to be prepared to arrive at their scheduled time and I would let them know the new location when we had one. While doing this Danielle’s father, fully blind, called all of his friends and connections, using Siri. They worked together as a team to find venues that were available on a popular day in a popular location. It was truly a remarkable experience to witness Steve finding a venue for his daughter without any worry. It took my breath away and I will forever remember it and treasure it. The police allowed the Maid of Honours husband to bring in his semi-truck so that we could collect as many assets as possible since we had fully set up the wedding the night before. All of the groomsmen and the grooms family came to assist. We gathered everything we could fit including all of the chairs, tables, tableware, candles, name cards, thank you gifts, florals, lounge furniture, seating chart, a family made pew, custom pew pillows that said “My Sunshine” and “Muscle Man”; their nicknames for one another and more. At this point in time, it had started to downpour and everyone was soaking wet but we made it work with a smile on our faces. We, unfortunately, had to leave the stunning 16ft arch that Danielle’s brother handmade. By a massive stroke of luck, the groom’s brother had his own wedding arch that he made for his wedding weeks prior with him in his truck. Everything was lining up in a way you would never expect. By the time we had gathered all of the assets, I received a call from Danielle’s mother with the new venue they selected, Lipa Park.

Little did I know at the time, that this was the venue that Danielle’s parents got married at. With the help of the day-of assistant that Danielle & Nate hired so that I could enjoy the wedding day, we contacted all of the vendors with the new location to start setting up. The significant others of the bridesmaids made handouts for the police to give to the guests so that they would know where the wedding would take place as the police had blocked off all access points to their home. The set-up started and word had spread about the situation at hand. Family members, friends and even community members whom we did not know showed up to the new venue to assist. Men and women were moving tables and chairs and following floorplans to make sure it matched exactly what Danielle & Nate wanted. Within the hectic-ness of it all, I stopped for a split second to take it all in. There were men who had never heard of a laser cut place card placing them perfectly on each charger, there were women lugging around stacks of chairs, there was even a wonderful stranger who heard the news and brought all the extra rags she had to help us dry off the assets that got wet in the rain (and she brought us Tim Horton’s coffee & donuts). There was so much beauty happening despite the tragic experience. Nate arrived to the venue in complete shock. I walked him around and showed him the ceremony space where he would be marrying his best friend. As soon as we walked into the space, he burst into tears. No matter what life was throwing at Danielle & Nate, the fact that they were going to marry one another that day was all that mattered.

The father of the bride’s best friend drove Danielle and her parents to the venue in his old-school convertible and even wore an old-school drivers hat. Every single person was rallying together to bring their day to life. We started the ceremony 15 minutes behind schedule but there wasn’t one dry eye the entire time. The MC was the groom’s sister and she altered her welcome speech to include the day’s experience and it left the guests and Danielle & Nate in tears from laughing. She and one of the groomsmen acted out an airline safety video and altered the words to reflect the explosion of the greenhouse. It was truly hilarious. The groom’s seven siblings also created a rap to welcome Danielle into the family that had the crowd in stitches. The night was capped off with an ice cream truck and a firework show that was a surprise for Danielle & Nate. Fast forward 6 months later, Danielle & Nate were reminded just how much their love for one another pushes them through the tough times. Danielle’s father passed away February 21st, 2020 and together, they have pushed through. Family, friends and the community have surrounded them with love and support. Just days before Steve passed, Danielle found out she was pregnant with her first child. She was able to tell her dad and he understood exactly what she said. It was a beautiful moment shared between the two of them to let him know that he was going to be a Grandpa. The rest is really history. Every single person involved was reminded exactly what a wedding and life is about. Love. At the end of the day decor does not matter, money does not matter, the love you have for one another is all that matters. No matter what life throws at you, you will have one another to get through. Their wedding day and the difficult times would not have been possible without the love of family, friends, vendors and the community and it was a humbling and beautiful experience.

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