Community Corner
Merrick Couple's Love Conquers Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy almost stopped the wedding of Rachel Meyerowitz-Brody and William Brody, but the two got married four days after it hit.
As Rachel Meyerowitz-Brody, 29, of Merrick was preparing for one of the best days of her life last year, Hurricane Sandy hit Long Island.
"Looking back on it now, it seems like yesterday," Meyerowitz-Brody said.
Meyerowitz-Brody and her husband, William Brody, were scheduled to be married at The Venetian in Babylon on Nov. 3, 2012, but on Oct. 29 Hurricane Sandy began.
The natural disaster almost stopped their wedding, but their love conquered the storm.
Tuesday makes one year since Hurricane Sandy caused destruction and disarray, but the newlyweds will celebrate a milestone on Sunday-- one-year since they said "I do."
"The anniversary of the storm is bittersweet," Meyerowitz-Brody said. "When it happened we were worried about the wedding and everyone around us."
In just four days, the couple found a different venue, made sure their guests were accommodated and had a beautiful wedding on the date that they planned.
Three days before the wedding, representatives from The Venetian called to give the couple other locations to have the ceremony because the venue received extensive damages.
The Venetian gave the couple the option to have the wedding at Terrace on the Park in Queens.
"We loved it there," Meyerowitz-Brody said.
They also found that their guests were able to reschedule their flights and that the 40 rooms that they booked in a hotel in Farmindale were still available even though the hotel was filled to capacity due to the storm.
One day before the wedding, Meyerowitz-Brody was informed that the hotel would not shuttle her guests to Queens due to liability purposes. She later made a call to The Venetian and got two 52-passenger buses for her guests.
The original cantor who was going to marry the couple was unable to make the wedding due to the gas shortage caused by the hurricane, but a replacement was found to handle the proceedings.
"After the storm hit, people thought that having the wedding would be impossible," she said. "But I learned that if you really want to do something you will do it."
The couple will celebrate their anniversary by visiting the University of Maryland, where they met and got engaged.
Meyerowitz-Brody said that the storm was not strong enough to stop her from marrying the one that she loves.
"If you want something bad enough you stick with it," she said. "We got married and everything was beautiful."
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