Amid the destruction and shattered lives left in the wake of hurricane Harvey, one couple have decided to embark on a new life after getting married.
Corporal Don Hamilton, 27, and 21-year-old Special Rainey Jackson, both members of the National Guard helping to restore battered communities in southeast Texas, tied the knot in am impromptu ceremony on Tuesday.
The pair, who got together for a bet after the Chicago Cubs won the World Series, used the one-in-1000 year flood as a backdrop to their nuptials.
Corporal Don Hamilton, 27, and Special Rainey Jackson, 21, both members of the National Guard stationed in Beaumont to help clean up after Harvey, got married on Tuesday (pictured, Hamilton changes the name on his new bride’s uniform)
The pair, who got together for a bet after the Cubs won the World Series, were planning a lavish ceremony in November, but realized they did not need it after seeing people with nothing left after the hurricane
Hamilton and Jackson told the Beaumont Enterprise that they had been planning a much more lavish November ceremony, but realized they didn’t need all that pomp and ceremony after seeing people with nothing left after the hurricane.
The wedding also provided some joyous relief for all the rescue workers who have spent weeks helping others to put their lives back together.
Hamilton said: ‘It’s definitely a switch from seeing families who lost everything but the clothes on their backs.
‘It makes you almost feel guilty that you can go home and sleep in a nice warm bed. This is a bright spot in my day.’
The bride and groom wore nothing but their combat fatigues, though Jackson did manage to track down a veil to pin in her hair.
They were married at Ford Park, an entertainment complex where the National Guard have been stationed, which was decorated in red, white and blue with battery-powered candles
Harvey has killed more than 60 people, displaced 1million, wrecked 200,000 homes and may cost $180billion to recover from, the governor of Texas has said
For a venue they used Ford Park, an entertainment complex in Beaumont where the National Guard have been stationed.
The base was decked out in red, white and blue for the occasion, and illuminated with battery-powered candles.
Harvey killed more than 60 people, destroyed approximately 200,000 homes over a 300-mile stretch of land and displaced more than 1million.
The governor of Texas has warned that the total bill to clean up the devastation could be as high as $180billion.
Harvey came ashore on August 25 as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years.