Missouri Couple Marries After Tornado Blows Roof Off Their Venue Just Days Before Wedding

“Nothing was going to stop us,” groom Kyle O'Driscoll said of the wild weather event

Not even Mother Nature's worst could stop one determined couple from saying "I do."

On Thursday, April 18, Taylor Jonas and Kyle O’Driscoll were in the middle of their wedding rehearsal at Brookdale Farms in Eureka, Mo., when an EF1 tornado suddenly swept through, tearing the metal roof off their venue space, according to KMOV.

“We didn’t really know what was happening,” Jonas told the local news outlet. “But we knew something was.”

The couple and their guests sought shelter, with some ducking under the bar and others hunkering down in the bathroom.

“Next thing we knew, the roof was flying off,” O’Driscoll told KMOV. “We went kind of pure chaos.”

Related: Iowa Woman Reunited with Her Parents' Wedding Photo Lost in a Tornado Nearly 16 Years Ago

After the storm, structural engineers came to the site to assess the damage. While the tornado caused considerable destruction to one of the farm's storage buildings, the wedding venue was determined to be sound apart from the hole in the roof.

Brookdale's general manager, James Vavak, assured the couple that the venue would do everything in its power to make it possible for the wedding to proceed as planned on Saturday, April 20, per KMOV.

“We want to make sure the building is safe to be occupied. But at the end of the day, we want to make this bride’s wedding a reality,” Vavak told the outlet ahead of the wedding.

“The staff has said all week that we are all really vested in this. We feel like part of the family now,” he added.

Early on Friday morning, a team of roofers got to work repairing the event space, and Brookdale staff cleaned up the storm debris from the grounds and set up tables and decorations for Jonas and O'Driscoll's wedding.

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By Saturday, the farm appeared mostly back to normal, and Jonas and O'Driscoll fulfilled their wish of exchanging vows with their family and friends looking on.

Related: Bride Walks Through Ankle-Deep Water in Flooded Church Wedding After Philippines Hit by Typhoons

“Nothing was going to stop us,” O’Driscoll told KMOV of the wild weather event.

“We were always going to have a wedding, whether it was in a parking lot or a barn or a tent,” agreed his now-wife.

The couple, who first met on a dating app three years ago, told KMOV that the true priority for them was having their loved ones there to witness their nuptials. “We have all our people,” Jonas said. “That’s the most important thing.”

“At the end of the day, I have the most amazing woman by my side," O'Driscoll chimed in, adding, "She’ll still be there through natural disasters."

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