Call it a Cinderella story. What began as a Katrina nightmare turned into a real-life fairy tale Friday when Shaun Thibodaux and Mike Becknel, residents of St. Bernard Parish outside New Orleans, were wed on the bank of a small lake in downtown Celebration.
As the new husband and wife kissed under a waning sun, hundreds of Celebration residents and businesspeople applauded, some of them dabbing away tears. Many of them had worked feverishly for three days to turn what was to be a tiny ceremony into a fete worthy of Cinderella and her prince. It was the least they could do for a couple who lost everything after floodwaters gushing through levee breaks submerged their house and belongings, and destroyed Thibodaux's fledgling business.When she viewed a satellite photo of St. Bernard, Thibodaux knew she had been hard-hit."It looked like a mud pit." The boutique she had started with a friend was gone too. "It was so cute," she said. "And we worked so hard. Our grand opening was Saturday when everybody was evacuated."Thibodaux, 38, and Becknel, 41, were to be married Oct. 16 aboard the cruise ship Carnival Conquest. Then Hurricane Katrina whipped in from the Gulf."The storm took everything, including the cruise line," Thibodaux said. With the Port of New Orleans damaged, the ship relocated to Galveston, Texas, taking with it their plans for a seven-day honeymoon cruise.Despite their losses, Thibodaux and Becknel were resolute about their future: "We thought, 'Let's just get married,' " she said.That's when Frank Scurlock, who is housing the couple and several other Katrina evacuees in his Celebration home, posted a note about the couple's small ceremony on the Front Porch, the community's Intranet site. Perhaps Celebration townsfolk could drop by the lake for the ceremony Friday, he suggested.Maybe they could even bring a gift. "As they literally have nothing, the odds of duplicating gifts does not exist," he wrote.The community immediately went into celebration mode. Within a few hours, enthusiastic residents -- who by Thursday had dubbed themselves "Cinderella's Mice Brigade" -- had offered to photograph the wedding as well as to round up a cake, tables and chairs, and flowers. By 2 p.m. Friday, the online thread about the wedding included more than 200 postings, and the guest list had grown from a few family members, friends and co-workers to about 150."The spontaneity has been incredible," said Joseph Judge, who helped organize the event. Residents embraced it because "it was an opportunity to see something good come out of something bad."Everything a bridal party could want was conjured in three short days as residents worked the phones and local businesses offered services. Al Valentino, owner of the Barber and Beauty Emporium in Celebration's Water Tower Place shopping plaza, donated haircuts and styling for the bridal party. An Olive Garden restaurant on U.S. Highway 192 in Kissimmee sent food for 100, and a newly opened Gooding's grocery store came up with the cake. Water Tower Florist donated bouquets and an arch.Residents dipped into their own pockets to purchase vials of bubbles, a horse-and-carriage ride and a two-night honeymoon at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort for the couple. A local music teacher recruited her middle-school jazz ensemble, and Joe "Magic" Depietto donated his services as emcee and deejay.On Friday evening, they gathered at the steps leading down to the lake, where an arch threaded with vines stood as a makeshift altar. Applause and the clip-clop of hooves marked the couple's arrival in a carriage. Then, to the music of bagpipes played by kilt-clad Don Larson, Thibodaux and Becknel descended the steps for a short ceremony officiated by Circuit Judge Alan Apte, a Celebration resident.As they joined hands, the temporarily homeless couple pledged their lives to each other and then added a clincher: "Wherever that may be."After the ceremony, more than 200 residents and well-wishers greeted the couple's arrival at nearby Celebration Lakeside Park. A table laden with gifts from residents and local merchants was flanked by one offering cookies and brownies baked by residents.As he watched the crowd, Scurlock said he wasn't surprised at the outpouring of support for the couple. "It's a very giving, loving community. It's one of the reasons I chose to relocate here," he said.
We weren't able to go because I've been sick all week, but this is one of the reasons why we moved to this town ...... it's an amazing place to live!!!
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