EUREKA, Mo. — A wedding ceremony that came close to not happening came together in Jefferson County on Saturday.
Taylor Jonas, the bride, sat calmly as she got her makeup done surrounded by her bridesmaids and family.
"I have no emotions right now. I'm just waiting for all that to hit. I think all the chaos the last couple of days was enough," she said.
Jonas said she had received a text last Thursday that there would be bad storms between 5 and 7 p.m.
"My soon-to-be husband and I were like, 'Y'all overreact to storms. Things are going to be fine,'" she said.
The night of the rehearsal dinner, things seemed to take a turn for the worse at Brookdale Farms in Eureka, Missouri.
A tornado in the area rolled in with gusts up to 100 mph, and the strong winds took a portion of Jonas' reception hall roof off.
"We tried to remain positive. You know, we tried to assure the bride that we were going to do everything in our possible means to make this day happen for her," said James Vavak, general manager. "She had her heart set on Silo Point."
Vavak immediately got his contractors on the phone. The contractors had to bring in a temporary roof to match as closely as possible to the original roof, address water that seeped into the building, and insulation that fell.
"We got the greenlight at 9 a.m. [Saturday] for the temporary occupancy for the wedding to take place here [Saturday]," the manager said.
Saturday evening, the chairs were in place, and the tables were all set. The bride was happy that guests or her wedding party were not inconvenienced.
"We are going to blow the roof off in a different way," Jonas said jokingly.
Brookdale Farms is still working with its insurance company to assess the damage, but their main goal was getting Silo Point open to fulfill the couple's dream.
The NWS has officially confirmed nine St. Louis area tornadoes.