Anderson Cooper has been doing some wedding planning lately.
No, not for his own nuptials, but for Eatontown, New Jersey couple Matthew and Shea Bailey.
On April 20, 2012, the Baileys appeared on Cooper's day time talk show, Anderson, to talk about how to be prepared for the worst on your wedding day, should a major storm blow your wedding off course.
In their case, Hurricane Irene was the culprit -- when the governor advised that the beach areas near Asbury, NJ were too dangerous due to the incoming hurricane, their August 2011 New Jersey nuptials had to be canceled (the Baileys exchanged vows at their rehearsal dinner instead).
“We thought we were going on the show to explain to other brides that although you can’t predict something like this, there are ways you can prepare by reading through your contracts and getting wedding insurance,” said Shea Bailey in a press release.
In fact, Cooper and his crew were working behind the scenes to plan a surprise wedding "do-over" for the couple, partnering with Sandals Resort in St. Lucia and the Wilshire Grand Hotel in West Orange, New Jersey to plan a dream beach wedding a year later, on August 19.
The resort gave the couple a beach vow renewal ceremony and six-day stay, and the hotel provided all the amenities for the couple's wedding reception, including a cocktail hour, entertainment, a three-course dinner, and 10 rooms to accomodate friends and family. Watch the video above to see how the reception turned out (the pair plans to travel to St. Lucia in a few months).
“Our heart just went out to the couple whose day was clearly ruined by extreme unexpected weather.” said hotel manager Ed Reagoso in the press release. “I personally felt the need to do the right thing in an effort to give back. This great couple whose planned event became a weather-related catastrophe prevented any hope for a great wedding memory."
The couple paid homage to their original wedding during their reception redo: the sound of (fake) lightning and thunder boomed across sound system speakers as they were introduced to friends and family at the reception.
Lots of couples refuse to let natural disasters ruin their Big Days. A Filipino couple took their wedding pictures in the middle of a knee-deep flood in Manila earlier this month, and another couple in New Jersey had to improvise a reception after a superderecho storm knocked out power in their venue. Click through the slideshow to see more weird-weathered weddings.
