An Austin couple didn't have far to look to find the silver lining after a fire destroyed their only vehicle and significantly damaged their garage — two days before their wedding.
"Our wedding stuff is OK," said groom-to-be Tyler Fett, "but it's kind of a crazy deal."
Just last weekend, Fett had moved most of his belongings into Channi Korfhage's garage. She'd bought the house last April — right about the time Fett popped the question.
The couple will likely be able to save the garage, "but everything within about five feet of the door got melted and wrecked," he said. "There's a lot of smoke damage on everything in there. Most of our electronics are all junk now."
Still, things could have been worse, Fett added.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It's really pretty lucky," he said. "I always keep the truck parked in the garage, but since I'd moved everything into there, it was all in the way."
Instead, the truck was in the driveway when a suspected electrical fire in the engine compartment broke out.
"It could have been the whole garage and into the house, possibly," Fett said, "so it could have been a lot worse than it actually was."
The 2001 Ford F150 is the couple's only vehicle. It was a complete loss.
Instead of adding more stress to an already hectic week, Fett said the fire has "kind of settled things down a little.
"We've been trying to get things done (for the wedding), so it's been stressful," he explained, "but the good thing that's come out of it is we've realized that not everything has to be bad. We'll be OK through anything."
Easy enough for the groom, perhaps, but what about the bride?
"Channi was pretty upset at first," Fett said. "She was really worried about the house catching on fire, so I was there to reassure her, and just hold her."
ADVERTISEMENT
And of course, the wedding will go on, as will the honeymoon. The couple leaves for Jamaica on Monday.
"We have an amazing family," Fett said. "They told us they'd take care of everything for us when we're gone, help with cleaning everything off."
So does the wedding registry need to be adjusted a little, to make up for some damaged items?
Fett laughed.
"You know, we were thinking about sending something out that says, 'hey, we're looking for garage items now,'" he said.
The wedding is set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Cornerstone Church in Austin.
