Anne Ramey and Mohsen Rashidi had been planning their wedding for months, but as they were setting up for the big day at a friend’s house in Summerland, things quickly took a turn.
“The smoke was just pouring over the mountain,” Ramey said.
“We could literally watch, as we were packing, the fire crest over the mountain and run down towards the house.”
With the food already prepped and guests already in town, the couple decided they would tie the knot in their own home.
“We spent so much time cooking, so we drove back home with the wedding cake on my lap,” she said.
“We had all the food, we had wine… it was just a matter of decorating a place. We can be sad or mad about it, or we can just make it happen. It was so beautiful to be able to gather all those people amid the chaos.”
Ramey says 30 out of 50 invited guests showed up.
At the same time, nearby at the Summergate Winery, a wedding rehearsal was also interrupted by the fast-growing flames.
“There were 50-plus people, plus all the regular visitors on a Friday afternoon cooking and wine tasting on our patio,” said winery owner Mike Stohler.
“Around 5:30, we heard this fire kick up, and customers were coming up saying, ‘Have you seen what’s happening behind you?’”
Within hours, everyone had to be evacuated.
The winery just started doing weddings a few years ago, but the owner is staying positive.
“We’ve been on the phone with our insurance for some interruption-of-business coverage,” Stohler said.
“We’ve had to cancel the upcoming receptions, because we literally haven’t been back since Friday… what’s so encouraging is I’m seeing already the spirit of Summerland, the community rallying together, Summerland strong, so what doesn’t knock us down will make us stronger.”
Another couple, Kelly Mascioli and Jesse Millen, also had to pivot their wedding plans. While their day was not what they had originally envisioned, they were still glad to say their vows in front of their loved ones.
“At 1:30 in the morning on Saturday, we learned that we needed to get evacuated, so we packed everything up,” Mascioli said.
“We ended up getting married at the DoubleTree in West Kelowna. They had a conference room that was available… obviously, it was extremely devastating, because we spent nine months planning every little detail…it’s not necessarily what we dreamed about, but the most important thing was to have our friends and family there.”
Like Mascioli, Ramey has also chosen to see the positive in the situation.
“I now have a certified, tested-by-fire guarantee that I picked the right husband,” she said.
