Sincerely Sara Cate: Floods and Outdoor Weddings Do NOT Mix

Rain is supposedly good luck on your wedding day. However, flash floods that start 12 hours prior to your outdoor wedding are your worst enemy. Who things about flash floods in Arizona?!

Anyhow, here's how the wedding that was supposed to take place at my in-laws back yard on Saturday played out......

3am: beings raining cats and dogs
8am: still raining buckets
9am: go and eat breakfast with my MIL expecting the rain to cease
10am: still pouring - we go rain boot shopping as we don't want to wear heels in the backyard if it's been raining all day.
10:30am: Dashing calls me from the house and informs us the back yard is flooded, even under the tent (that was put up for the suspected showers).

11am: Dashing calls me and his mom to tell us a big tree in the backyard has just been uprooted because the ground is so water logged (see roots). Dashing watched it come out of the ground and moved two people out of the way.

11:10am: My MIL, one of the other groomsmen's moms, and I start calling everyone we know to try to find a different INDOOR location. All the local country clubs and community centers had moved their outdoor events indoors - out of luck here. One of my best friend's and her husband offered up their remodeling-in-progress luxury home investment properties. We, and the groom and groomsmen, go check it out. It could definitely work, but it isn't the beautiful backyard where the groom has many memories growing up, where he always thought he'd get married.

12noon: Groom decides he wants to make the backyard work....We don't think this is an option at all. Bride still doesn't really know what's going on as she and the bridesmaids are getting ready at a nearby hotel. It is still raining. The flooding worsens. Electricity in the backyard shuts down because of the water.

12:20pm: My MIL pulls groom aside and says "Honey, you cannot get married here today." "Really?" says the groom. Tears follow as he calls his bride, whom he is supposed to marry in this very back yard in FOUR hours.

12:30pm: One of the groomsmen's mothers gets word that a family friend has offered up her luxury home (not under remodel). Groom goes and checks it out......we're already packing up the backyard. Tables in pick-ups, lanterns in cars. Then we get word..........IT'S A GO!

1:00pm: Transport everything to new location. It's beautiful! Call bride and tell her she's going to get married in a house she's never laid eyes on. She was such a good sport. I cannot imagine the emotions she and the groom felt. The Groomsmen, family, and friends all pulled together.....

AND We moved and set up the entire wedding in 4 hours. Guests were called to tell them the new location and a delay of 1.5 hours.

Parking arrangements even had to change and we got our cousin to come and run the valet for us (with 30 minutes notice!). Whew!

It turned out beautiful. A wedding truly to remember. The bride and groom beamed with happiness and joy. The day was truly filled with love. It took ALL of us to pull this off. It clearly showed the couple how much they are loved by family and friends.

Here's how it turned out!