WEDDING OF THE WEEK Via the Fort Bend Sun:

In the wake of the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina, Michaella Boyd and fiancé Thomas Sullivan lost everything, including hopes for a wedding ceremony in the coming year in their native New Orleans.

The couple, who have lived in New Orleans all their lives, had recently become engaged and were saving money to marry next year.

[...]

After taking almost a week to get to Houston after the storm, the couple, determined to seal their commitment to one another, obtained a marriage license and were planning to be married by a justice of the peace.

Those plans changed when they met Sugar Creek Senior Adult Pastor Frank Minton while seeking transportation assistance at the Fort Bend Disaster Relief Command Center in Sugar Land.

After meeting the young couple and hearing their story, Minton with the help of his pastor, Sugar Creek Senior Pastor Mark Hartman and church staff and members, arranged a wedding ceremony complete with wedding attire, flowers, a groom's ring, cake, and a honeymoon stay in Kemah donated by several local businesses.

The chance meeting allowed Boyd and Sullivan to celebrate the one thing they have left, each other. The couple's impromptu wedding ceremony was officiated by Sugar Creek Senior Pastor Mark Hartman and the bride was escorted down the aisle by Minton, exchanging vows with her groom as a few family members and a host of church members, media professionals and photographers looked on.