HANOVER COUNTY, Va. -- Life can be unpredictable but not even a Category 4 hurricane was going to stop Rachel Rodney and Roger Peterson from tying the knot.
The happy couple had planned to get married on Saturday at a completely outdoor space in Hanover County.
As the pair watched Hurricane Ian forecasts, getting married outside was seeming less and less likely. Remnants of Ian are expected to make for a wet weekend in Central Virginia.
By Tuesday night, the couple's backup plans had fallen through.
"We freaked out, cried all night. Then this morning woke up and said, let's get married today!" Rachel Rodney-Peterson, the bride, said.
There was a lot that the two had to consider.
"Could we still use the same venue, how many strings could we pull, how many people could come," Roger Peterson.
But by midday on Wednesday, Roger was on board. After several phone calls and moving a few things around, with six hours' notice, Roger and Rachel were on their way to the altar. Roger's brother officiated the ceremony.
While the ceremony was much smaller than the couple had planned, loved ones looked on in person while others joined via Facetime.
So much about this wedding was different from what many had expected but many other parts happened just as they would have any other day, like the exchange of heartfelt vows.
A new journey for these two, hand in hand, side by side and one step ahead of the storm, a jump start to the beginning of their forever.
