A storm cut off an Outer Banks couple from most of their wedding guests; they posted an open invitation online, and more than 400 strangers showed up with food, music and cameras to celebrate

Kimberly Laprad and Jayden Sink thought their wedding might end up as little more than a private photo session after a storm stranded most of their guests off North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Instead, hundreds of strangers turned up to celebrate with them.The couple had spent a year planning their Sept. 25 wedding on Hatteras Island, hoping to exchange vows on the beach. They had an indoor backup plan, but a nor’easter brought conditions far worse than expected. Road access to the island was cut off and officials declared a state of emergency, leaving most of their 45 invited guests unable to reach the wedding, according to The Washington Post.Laprad and Sink, both 24 and living in Roanoke, Virginia, had already made it to the island. Their vendors, including the musicians, cake provider, officiant and photographer, began cancelling as conditions worsened.“It wasn’t just disappointing,” Sink said. “It was defeating.”The couple invited the whole islandThe couple considered chartering a boat to bring their guests across, but abandoned the idea because conditions were too dangerous.With their plans collapsing, they considered putting on their wedding clothes and taking photographs themselves.“It would just have been a really expensive photo shoot,” Sink said.Then Laprad suggested something unexpected the night before the wedding.“Let’s just invite the whole island,” she told Sink.The idea started as a joke, but a friend who had reached the island before access was blocked began sharing an invitation in local Facebook groups.Within about 20 minutes, hundreds of people said they planned to attend. Dozens also offered food, cake, music and photography.“We thought maybe 20 or 30 people would show up,” Sink said. “We didn’t think it would go viral.”The couple had originally planned to hold their wedding at the beachfront property they had rented. With hundreds of strangers interested in attending, they needed a bigger venue.Local residents step inStacey Saunders, general manager of Frisco Woods Campground, saw the Facebook post and offered the couple the campground’s 38-acre property and pavilion for free.Saunders, who has managed the campground for five years, is also an ordained minister and offered to officiate.“I saw their Facebook post, and I was like, ‘I have the place, I have the means; if they can get to me, I can help them,’” she told the outlet..Restaurants and caterers donated food, people brought several wedding cakes, and three photographers, a DJ and a florist provided their services for free.Hatteras Island has about 4,000 year-round residents, but the wedding drew far more people than the couple had expected. Laprad and Sink estimated that between 500 and 800 people attended, while about 460 strangers signed their guest book.“Twenty four hours ago, we were all strangers,” Saunders said while officiating. “Now, we’re not.”A wedding they never expectedAmong the volunteers was Gwenyth Airhart, a professional wedding photographer from Luray, Virginia, who was vacationing on the island. After seeing a Facebook post about the couple, she decided to photograph the wedding.“I just felt really bad for their situation, knowing how special a wedding is, and then just these extreme circumstances,” Airhart told the newspaper.She called it the most memorable wedding of her five-year career.“I loved watching the outpouring of love that these random strangers had for this wonderful young couple,” she said.Laprad, who grew up visiting Hatteras with her family, said the community had changed how she viewed the unexpected turn of events.“The people on this island have definitely restored our faith in humanity,” she said.The couple still wished their family and original guests could have attended, but said the wedding ultimately became something they would not have experienced otherwise.“I think it happened the way it was supposed to,” Laprad said. “We all had a great time.”“We made a lot of friends,” Sink said.The couple plans to return to Hatteras Island every year for their anniversary. They have also started an online fundraiser for a sidewalk construction project on the island to give back to the community.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.