A February fire may have put them out of their home and destroyed their belongings, but 33-year-old Amanda Wesley and Farron Young, 39, still got their June wedding thanks to the kindness of community.
The loss of Wesley’s wedding dress, her handmade decorations and other wedding-related items in the flames certainly added to the challenge. Along with that, the couple had no renter’s insurance at the time of the fire, so money was tight.
That’s where event planner Sarah Hughes came in. She read about what had happened to Wesley and Young in the Times Colonist and decided to approach the two strangers with an offer to help make the wedding happen, which it did on Sunday afternoon.
“She really made it come together for us,” Young said just prior to the ceremony. He said it took place only a day past the original date.
“One little disaster caused a lot of happy things, actually. So many people have kind of come together to help us out.”
The family, including two children, is back on track and doing well, he said.
“We really don’t know how to thank people. Community — it’s awesome.”
Organizing weddings is just the sort of thing Hughes does through her company, Fresh View Events, so she was the right person for the job. She secured donated services from over 30 businesses, and Kildara Farms in North Saanich was provided free of charge as a venue for the approximately 60 guests.
Hughes said she was touched by the story of Wesley and Young and decided she wanted to do what she could.
“So often we can’t really tangibly help people when we read about them,” Hughes said.
But putting on a wedding was something she had plenty of experience with.
“I thought, ‘This we can do.’ ”
From there, the basic goodness of people took over, Hughes said.
“The wedding industry in Victoria is quite close,” she said. “I just reached out to the people I usually work with in the wedding industry and said, ‘Who wants to help?’
“We have everything — catering, cake, florals, absolutely everything. Eric Bedard the magician, a photo booth, DJ.”
The people she approached were happy to be part of the effort, Hughes said.
