Hollywood Couple Forced To Adopt Plan B When Cranston Fire Derailed Their Wedding
HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA) -- A Hollywood couple had to come up with Plan B for their wedding when the original location was caught in the cross hairs of the Cranston Fire.
The bride and groom spoke to KCAL9's Jo Kwon about their change of plans.
Joey Fonacier and Connie Lin got engaged two years ago and picked Idyllwild for the big day because the area represents their love for the great outdoors.
But the Cranston Fire meant their big day was in danger of being derailed.
"Hoping it was a small fire but I did not know it was going to escalate to something this big," Lin said.
"I was like no way," says Fonacier. "This can't be happening."
He says a friend texted him and asked, 'Did you see about the fire in Idyllwild?'"
"I thought he was kidding," Fonacier says. He went on line and realized the text was no joke.
"Okay, it does not look like we're going to Idyllwild," he said.
A year of planning -- gone!
Now they had a condo filled with wedding stuff that was supposed to be on its way to Idyllwild.
"I thought we need a minute," Fonacier says, "So we went to go get ice cream." They even took a selfie to commemorate the occasion -- they had about 48 hours to plan a new wedding.
"I didn't even know how I was supposed to feel," Lin says.
Thanks to friends and family -- and strangers -- they couple has pulled off the near-impossible.
"I thought let's do a Plan B," said the groom's mother, Luz Fonacier,"And my son said there's no Plan B. And I said, yes, there's always a Plan B!"
Lin Googled "last-minute" wedding venues but there "was no information I needed."
They pulled off a Plan B with the help of a GoFundMe page to help pay for the second nuptials.
"I cannot believe people set up this GoFundMe for us" Lin says. "I'm just so thankful."
Luz is busy with the centerpieces. Dad is helping with the table markers. It's all hands on deck as they get ready for their new special day.
"I can't believe we pulled this off," Lin says, "And I think I'll treasure the party even more now."
And the groom concurs.
"We thought we'd have something beautiful in Idyllwild," he says, "And everyone would remember that, but everyone will definitely remember this."
The couple will be married Saturday in front of 100 guests at the Fig House in Highland Park.
For a link to the couple's GoFundMe page, click here.