'A hot frickin' mess': Couples holding weddings this weekend scramble ahead of Dorian

As Maritimers stock up on supplies ahead of Hurricane Dorian's arrival this weekend, some people have another thing to worry about: their wedding.

Victoria MacKay and Scott Babin were originally planning on having an outdoor wedding on Saturday in Tantallon, N.S. 

But the couple had a big decision to make as it became clear Dorian was closing in, bringing high winds, heavy rains and possible power outages.

"We didn't want to put anybody in danger," said MacKay.

So on Thursday, the young couple made the last-minute decision to hold their ceremony a day earlier.

"We're basically just trying to beat the bad weather," said Babin.

The couple got lucky: the venue and all of the vendors were able to make the new date work.

"It's just very cool that everyone can move everything in a day," said MacKay.

Now the couple is scrambling to finish all their prep work for the event and make sure guests know about the new date, said MacKay.

"It's a hot frickin' mess," she said.

Always make a backup plan, wedding planners say

MacKay and Babin aren't the only couples grappling with stormy weather this weekend.

Two Halifax-based wedding planners say the forecast has forced some of their clients to make some drastic changes.

Katelyn Hipson, who runs Elegant Productions, told CBC's Mainstreet that one of her clients also had to move their outdoor wedding a day earlier.

"It wouldn't be a true Maritime wedding without a plan A, and a plan B, and sometimes a plan B for your plan B," she said with a laugh.

"It's definitely one of those things that when you choose to get married in Atlantic Canada, you're probably going to have weather as some sort of factor in the back of your mind."

Hipson said that while planning a wedding with a couple, they always keeps some backup plans in mind in case the weather goes south.

Stephanie Brown, owner of Sky's the Limit Events, said two of the three weddings she's working with this weekend have venues that can be rearranged to hold the ceremony indoors.

"The third, we're doing on the Sunday morning, so we're hoping the storm has passed by then," she said.

Brown said she's done two other weddings during hurricane weather before. She dealt with a venue that lost power in one case and a venue that flooded in another.
 
"We're in the Maritimes. You just have to embrace it," said Brown.

Couple won't let bad weather dampen wedding

While MacKay and Babin are disappointed that their wedding won't go exactly as planned, they say it won't keep them from enjoying their big day.

"At this point, we're happy that at least Friday will be nice weather," said Babin.

"We were worried that it was going to rain all weekend long and we weren't going to get an outdoor wedding."

MacKay agreed.

"It feels a bit rushed, but, I mean, the person I'm going to marry is going to be there, so that's nice," she said.