EUREKA, Mo. — With 300 acres of farmland, Brookdale Farms in Eureka, Missouri, acts as an event venue space that hosts multiple activities including weddings.
"This is what we do for a living, our specialty (is) weddings here," James Vavak, Brookdale Farms general manager, said. "We do about 80-90 weddings a year. The end of April (to the) beginning of May is wedding season."
Friday morning, the venue had a different way of preparing for a wedding.
Determined crews drilled away putting back together the Silo Point wedding venue, which is the largest wedding venue on site.
Taylor Jonas and Kyle O'Driscoll have planned their perfect day at Silo Point for the last two years.
In seconds, a tornado threatened that Thursday evening.
An EF-1 tornado came barreling through with gusts up to 100 miles per hour, destroying the farm's storage unit.
Feet away, the wedding party's rehearsal dinner was already underway with about 20 people inside.
Vavak said their team acted quickly.
"Mother Nature had a different idea of what was going to happen for us. The garage doors at the end (were) shaking really bad, (and) we had a baby with us. I think everyone's concern was to get to safety. (and) we all ran to the bathroom," Corey Miller and Heather Jonas, the bride's parents, said.
The storm tore off a quarter of the roof, creating a massive hole at the top. The storm also blew off the back entry garage doors.
No one was hurt.
"Buildings can be replaced, structures can be replaced, lives cannot," Vavak said.
The focus turned to get Kyle and Taylor to tie the knot.
While Vavak said they had a backup plan, the bride's heart was set on Silo Point.
"Our goal is to make her dream a reality tomorrow," Vavak shared.
The bride's parents are counting their blessings.
"I was just blessed all of us walked away because that building (behind us) ... if it had done it to that, we don't know if we (would) still be here today. Someone was watching out for us," Jonas said.
The night before her daughter's wedding, Jonas shared this timely advice.
"Things are going to happen, it's out of your control and keep rolling with the punches," she said.
By Friday evening, a temporary roof was placed and Brookdale Farms started decorating inside. A Jefferson County inspector will be back Saturday at 9 a.m. to give them the green light.
Vavak said there is a 99% chance the wedding will happen at Silo Point. There is another wedding planned for next weekend.
Two school field trips were canceled for Friday.
Kindergartners at Pevely Elementary School were supposed to go on their first field trip, but the school received a call Thursday evening about the damage.
Principal Katie Dunlap said she appreciated the heads up so they could pivot quickly. Students made cards for those impacted by the storms at Brookdale Farms.
David Staral, owner of Silver Spoon Ice Cream, extended a helping hand to the neighbors five minutes away.
Staral said the Eureka community is amazing and shows up when it's needed.
