LOUISVILLE, Colo. — Jamie Laughner and Max Petersen were planning the best day of their lives when their worst day happened.
"We were on the front line of the fire while the winds were still high," Petersen said.
The couple's home in Louisville was burned by the Marshall Fire, the devastating wildfire that destroyed more than 1,000 homes in Boulder County last month. They escaped with their two dogs, but not much else.
"Everything," Laughner said. "All the stuff we had for our wedding as well."
The couple was planning to get married in March.
"My veil, my shoes, all the decorations. Everything we had bought and accumulated unfortunately were lost," Laughner said.
Luckily for her, her wedding dress happened to be at her seamstress's ahead of an upcoming fitting. Laughner then turned to Facebook for help, posting a photo of herself in that dress, asking for a place to replace her veil.
"The response has been more than I could ever imagine. People offering veils, decorations, shoes, wedding rings," Laughner said. "Anything you could think of for our wedding, they were like, 'Can I help out?'"
Through that post, she's already been given a pair of shoes to wear while walking down the aisle. At last check, 134 people have commented on Laughner's post.
"This is one of those silver linings. The outpouring of support to help make our wedding day what we wanted it to be in the first place," she said.
In addition, funds raised through Denver7 Gives, a charitable initiative by Scripps station KMGH in Denver, have paid for the balance for Laughner's dress alterations. Seamstress Patty Elliot is also donating the cost of bustling the dress.
The couple was also given a Target gift card to pay for dishes and towels for their new apartment.
"It warms the bottom of my heart that there are such kind people out here during this experience that we're going through," she said.
The couple is still planning to celebrate their wedding in mid-March.
This story was originally published by Jason Gruenauer on Scripps station KMGH in Denver.
