Greensboro couple donates wedding menu after Helene cancels wedding

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — A Greensboro couple had to cancel their dream wedding in Independence, Virginia, because of Hurricane Helene. They turned the disappointment around by choosing to show kindness and compassion.

Since the wedding was off, they decided to feed the community their wedding menu.

Jessica Beebe and Will Landacre found the perfect place to say “I do” in Independence, Virginia. They were supposed to get married last weekend, but Helene crashed the party.

“The creek overran the bank and just came to the house. That flooded some of the rooms that we were supposed to have our guests stay in,” Beebe said.

“Their houses… lost power and just motes of water surrounding them. So they couldn’t go anywhere,” Landacre said.

The Greensboro couple called off their rehearsal Friday night, and Saturday they hoped things would improve but had to make a quick decision.

“The driveway had washed away, so people couldn’t even get onto the property itself … Trees were down across the road,” Landacre said.

They started their effort by working to help the hosts at their wedding venue.

“He was out clearing trees. I was helping the hostess and her sister. We were trying to … sweep water and mud off the property,” Beebe said.

Due to road conditions, “The Chickpea” food truck that would have been serving food at their wedding was unable to make it to the property.

After calling off the wedding, the couple wanted the warm meals to go to community members impacted by the storm.

With the food on the food truck unable to make it to them, they decided to set up at the Food City parking lot in Independence.

“Our host … is very well connected, so she put the word out, and some people were able to come out and get food,” Landacre said.

A large crowd showed up, and they even ran out of food. People opened up about the heartbreak brought on by Helene.

“A lot of them were without power. One of them … had a tree fall on her house … It was a mess,” Landacre said.

It’s a simple act of kindness that’s going a long way.

“It was good that we could contribute what little we did,” Landacre said.

The couple has rescheduled their wedding for Dec. 7. They plan to return to Independence, Virginia, to hold their wedding.

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