A few hours before Dayleen Marrero and Andrew Taylor were set to say their “I do’s,” the couple’s apartment building caught fire and the blaze destroyed almost everything they owned.
The fire started before 2 p.m. Friday in a two-story building on the 100 block of North Campbell Avenue. Flames were seen shooting through the roof.
Taylor was at the home at the time of the blaze and at 1 p.m. the fire had not reached their loft space yet. He credits their dog Dharma for saving his life.
"I got a text from my groomsmen, [then thought] 'Let's take the dog for a walk,'" Taylor said.
When he walked out into the hall he saw flames engulfing the area and running all the way up to the ceiling.
Taylor managed to escape with nothing but his tuxedo and their pit bull mix and immediately called his soon-to-be wife.
“I assumed he was going to be excited like getting me pumped for the wedding,” Marrero said. “[But] could hear sirens in the back.”
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Their wedding rings and all their belongings were left inside as the fire consumed their home. Two of the groomsmen who were not home at the time of the fire lost a dog and a cat in the blaze.
None of this stopped the pair from getting married.
Their evening wedding went on as planned. There was dancing, cake and even karaoke as the couple celebrated their love.
“They pulled it together,” a GoFundMe page for the couple reads. “They showed up for each other and were both beaming as they each married their best friend.”
Friends and family members set up the fundraising page to help the couple start their new life off on a better note. The page has raised more than $7,600 since Saturday.
“There will be a lot of things they can't get back, but a lot can also be replaced,” the page read. “In replacing these things, they'll need a lot of money. Starting over isn't easy.”
While the couple still hopes to find their wedding rings and salvage what they can, they said they're just happy to have each other.
