‘I wouldn’t want it any other way’: Couple says ‘I do’ hours after powerful tornado
By Drew Gardner
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MAYFIELD, Kentucky (WLKY) — On Saturday, Dec. 11, under the lights of a few Christmas trees powered by a generator, Micah and Madison Haley exchanged their vows.
The ceremony took place just hours after a tornado ravaged their hometown of Mayfield.
The couple had been planning the wedding for over a year.
“We had candlelit aisles and nothing looked the way I imagined it, but I still wouldn’t want it any other way,” Micah said.
Shortly before the powerful EF4 tornado cut a destructive path through downtown Mayfield, the couple was holding their rehearsal dinner. They arrived home just in time to take shelter.
“Once you hear it you will never forget the sound of what happened and then you get out the next day and everything is gone. It’s unbelievable,” Micah said.
The church where they were to be married sat just a few blocks from the tornado’s path.
“The only thing wrong with the building was the power, which was the whole city. Our minister was still okay with going on and so I thought that was kind of a sign, you know? God telling us this is still your moment. It’s not going to be what you planned, but it’s going to be what I planned for you all,” Madison said.
With their family and friends safe, the service went on. But the devastation that surrounded them was not far from their minds.
“Buildings that are familiar are not there. Places that I went to as I was growing up are no longer there. It’s just heartbreaking to see other people’s losses and how that affects the community,” Micah said.
One of those familiar buildings was Carr’s Steakhouse where Madison worked. The downtown restaurant is now just a pile of rubble.
“I’ve been working here with amazing people for over a year and a half and just to think I can’t just walk into that building anymore and just talk with those people in that building. It kind of breaks my heart,” Madison said.
The couple continued onto their honeymoon in Florida, returning Saturday to the heartbreaking reality that their community is forever changed.
Despite the darkness that surrounded their wedding day. they are trying to focus on the light.
“I still smile about it every time I think about it. I still got to marry Micah and everyone who was in the wedding with me made it so special and still made it the best day,” Madison said.
As the couple settles into married life, they say they are eager to join in on the cleanup efforts already underway.
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