Hurricane Irma ruins Harry Potter-themed cruise ship wedding

Friday, September 8, 2017
Irma ruins Harry Potter-themed cruise ship wedding
Diana Williams has more on how Hurricane Irma is created some wedding woes for one couple in Connecticut.

WATERTOWN, Connecticut -- Hurricane Irma is creating some wedding woes, including for one couple in Connecticut.

"We had our wedding all set up for a cruise out of Miami, Florida, on Saturday, and we were supposed to be getting married on (September 10), which is Sunday, legally, through the Bahamas," bride-to-be Shawna Grant said. "And due to the hurricane, it got canceled."

Grant and her fiance Brian Swafford have been together more than six years. They're both cooks.

"We both went to culinary school," Swafford said. "She went to Johnson and Wales, and I went to the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. And we had an internship at the Homestead down in Virginia."

Both also share a love of Harry Potter, which was supposed to be the theme of their small wedding, with 34 guests on board a Norwegian Cruise through the Caribbean.

"It was $3,000 for the cruise itself and then $6,000 to $7,000 for the wedding," Swafford said.

The cruise line refunded the couple's money and even gave them a deal for another trip. However, the couple still wants to have their Potter-themed wedding on its original date. They are now planning it on much higher and safer ground in Watertown, Connecticut.

"We have to have 50 people to do it at the Grand Oak Villa, so things are turning out pretty well," Grant said. "Grand Oak Villa has been great."

The couple just needs to pay for food, and the DJ is giving them a $400 discount. But there is still a big piece of the puzzle that's missing.

"We sent all of our stuff to Florida to the hotel that we were supposed to be staying at, and it has all of the wedding stuff in it," she said.

Thankfully, her dress is in Connecticut. But the couple has been making calls to UPS to expedite the process.

"A little wave of the wand, that would be great," she said.

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