NEWS

Couple still getting married despite Hurricane Matthew

Wayne T. Price
FLORIDA TODAY

This wedding will go on, come hell or high water.

For Jaime Gurnavage and Ryan Gordon of Suntree, they're probably going to get a bit of both. The couple couple chose an Oct. 8 beach wedding for a reason, and Hurricane Matthew isn't going to put a damper on the nuptials any more than he has already.

Jaime Gurnavage and Ryan Gordon planned a beach wedding in Cocoa Beach Saturday. No matter what the terrain will look like Saturday afternoon, the Suntree couple vowed the wedding will go on, despite Hurricane Matthew.

"We plan on still having some type of ceremony," said Gurnavage, an advisor for a local non-profit. "Whatever kind of ceremony that may be."

The couple, who have been engaged for two years, are like numerous couples along Florida's eastern coast whose wedding plans have been thrown into a blender by Mother Nature. Some are rescheduling and making other arrangements, wedding planners say, while some couples say love will prevail over wind, rain and storm surge.

Gurnavage and Gordon are bound and determined to have a semblance of wedding they've been putting the final touches on for months.

Satellite Beach: 'It Is Real'

A few ride out Hurricane Matthew in downtown Melbourne

The wedding was set up for Ocean Landing Resort in Cocoa Beach. It's unclear what shape the resort or the beach will be in once Matthew passes through the Space Coast.

About 100 guest were planning to attend the ceremony, including 30 from out of state, mostly Gurnavage's native Pennsylvania. Of the latter, 15 ventured to Brevard only to evacuate with Gurnavage and Gordon to the Orlando area when it became clear central Florida was the storm's sweet spot.

"Everybody asked if we were going to reschedule," Gurnavage said. "But everything is engraved with the 8th of October. We picked the 8th because the No. 8, when you set it on the side, it's the infinity symbol."

This was to be the setting - and the same weather - for Jamie Gurnavage and Ryan's Gordon's wedding on Saturday. They said they're still going forward with a beach side wedding.
Saturday

Plus, "If we rescheduled it for later, who knows who would be able to make it back."

Bottom line: "We're going to go with the 8th."

And on a positive note it appears Hurricane Matthew spared South Florida. That's good because the Gurnavage and Gordon planned a Key West honeymoon.

The wedding is set for 5 p.m. Saturday.

Contact Price at 321-242-3658 or wprice@floridatoday.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @Fla2dayBiz.