VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Sherri and Richard Fredrickson barely even got to eat their wedding cake before they ended their reception at the Military Aviation Museum. Streets surrounding their venue were closed because of high water, forcing the newlyweds to weather their first storm as husband and wife.
There's a saying rain on a wedding day is good luck. If so, what does a hurricane mean? Sherri Fredrickson said the ceremony and reception were fantastic.
"It was perfect! Like everything went smoothly except for the Hurricane I'm not joking," said Sherri.
The happy couple had just cut their wedding cake when Sherri's dad approached them and said Indian River was closed and they needed to get all the guests out so they could get back home or to their hotels. Like good hosts, Sherri and Richard were the last to leave. But high waters kept them from getting home.
"It was bad enough we had to cut our wedding short. I didn't want to get out in my tux and her get out in her dress and trudge through waist-high water," said Richard.
They picked up their stranded maid of honor and pulled into a Kroger parking lot, which Sherri said was the only place with high ground. Sherri asked if they could sleep in the lobby, but they got a no for an answer. Kroger told News 3 they didn't know how the storm could impact the store and made that decision to protect the couple's safety.
The next morning, the couple woke up before dawn, but there were more failed attempts to get home. The newlyweds and some of their wedding party settled for a hotel.
"Finally take a shower and get out of my wedding dress at 8 o clock in the morning, it was ridiculous," said Sherri. Afterward, a groomsman borrowed a kayak so Richard could kayak home. Their wedding guests, three dogs and house survived without a scratch.
Richard said after that obstacle, they are more than ready for married life.
'It`s going to raise the bar for things we have to argue. If it`s worse than Hurricane Matthew then maybe we can argue about it," said Richard with a laugh.
But Sherri might have a few things to work on. When News 3's Kim Cung asked Sherri to say and spell her first and last name Sherri said, "It's Sherri Cook, no! Wrong, Sherri Fredrickson!"
Just give her some time.
