After wedding venue was burned down, entire community teamed up to give couple a dream wedding

Weddings are times for families and loved ones to come together and celebrate the union of two souls, which connects their worlds as well. But despite the best efforts, there are always some last-minute glitches that need to be managed as a joint effort by both sides. Something similar happened when a venue that a couple had booked for their wedding was burned down, leaving them with uncertainty about the big day, as per Bored Panda. 

The news of the catastrophe was revealed by Will Gilson, who owns and rents out the venue - The Herb Lyceum -  for weddings, through an Instagram post. While Will had to focus on rebuilding his family business, he couldn’t help but worry for the bride and groom who were hours away from the most memorable moment of their life. “I’m standing there with the whole team that operates the space and we’re watching this fire burn and our first thoughts are, ‘How do we make sure that somebody’s wedding isn’t ruined because of this?'” he recalled. To begin with, he made last-minute arrangements for them in the neighboring Groton Inn, whose owners gladly obliged at short notice. Within an hour, he was able to set up everything in the best way possible to give the couple a memorable wedding.

“It was really heartwarming to have that level of willingness on their side to just jump at it and say, ‘Of course.’ I mean, not even thinking about the finances of it, they just said, ‘We’ll figure it all out later,'” Gilson exclaimed. On top of that, when people heard about the fire, they were more than willing to lend a helping hand. Many stepped forward to aid with the couple’s wedding in every way possible. One of the residents, who had a restaurant, offered to bring dishes, and just like that, everything started falling into place. 

“The whole town banded together at the last minute to ensure that the wedding still could take place as scheduled,” one of the residents said. While they all pulled off this wedding, Gilson was worried about other upcoming weddings booked at his venue. As he thought of the couples before his business, he was assured that he would get all the support needed from the townspeople. “We’ve had folks reaching out to offer tents and heaters and extra hands if need be. And even the town had offered conservation land to be able to do this as we keep navigating the future events,” he shared. 

In his post, Will shared how dear the venue was to him and expressed his gratitude. He wrote, “This place means so much to us and my dad and I are so grateful to the people who have reached out and offered support during this difficult time. We have lots of work ahead but the outpouring of love for this special place has been humbling. It is home to so many wonderful memories and we will find a way to rebuild and be reborn.” Will has also set up a GoFundMe page where people have contributed almost $30,000 to help him out. The Herb Lyceum can hope for a revival, thanks to the community spirit displayed by the people.