Amid tornado, wedding couple forced to have first dance in basement: 'Chaos ensued'

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A couple’s wedding night turned out a bit differently than they imagined thanks to a strong tornado in the area. 

Sarah and Alex Schilke had just said "I do" in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in June 2024 when they noticed the clouds in the sky started to look ominous.

The 26-year-olds told Fox News Digital they became husband and wife in an outdoor ceremony and were able to complete family photos outside before the rain began to fall.

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Sarah Schilke recalled that her husband had given his "thank you" speech to the guests and the DJ was entertaining others when a tornado watch was put into effect for the area. 

"The DJ approached us … and informed us that he was legally required to announce that there was a tornado watch in effect and guests were being given the option to shelter in the basement," she recalled. 

Sarah and Alex Schilke, pictured here, enjoyed their first dance as husband and wife in the basement of their wedding venue — due to a tornado warning.  (Sarah Schilke)

After waiting a minute to figure out the next move, Sarah Schilke said guests’ phones began to sound off with an emergency alert that a tornado had touched down — and the tornado watch was not a warning. 

Staff at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, where the ceremony and reception were held, were then instructing everyone to take shelter in the basement. 

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"Initially, in the basement, spirits were high, and we were making our way throughout the basement to mingle and chat with our guests," Sarah Schilke told Fox News Digital. 

She continued, "Then, the power went out and chaos ensued."

The couple said they were originally concerned about their guests but quickly made the best of it.  (Sarah Schilke)

Although Sarah Schilke said she and her husband continued to mingle with guests, a member of the bridal party went to retrieve a speaker from the main floor to play music in the meantime. 

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"We were then approached by some strangers that were attending a family reunion in the basement ballrooms, and they asked if we had [had] our first dance yet," Sarah Schilke said.

"We hadn't, and so they asked if we would like their musically talented guest, Jack Jones, to sing and play guitar so we could have our first dance."

"Don't sweat the small stuff, but don't sweat the big stuff either."

Sarah Schilke and her husband proceeded to dance to Ed Sheeran’s "Perfect" thanks to a talented stranger’s guitar and many guests’ phone lights. 

"There were so many lights that we could hardly see the room full of people surrounding us, and they almost looked like stars. It truly felt like it was just us," she said. 

The couple said a guest who was attending a family reunion in a nearby ballroom sang for them in the basement.  (Sarah Schilke)

The software engineer told Fox News Digital that she became overwhelmed with emotion at that moment — and was grateful to be surrounded by kind people. 

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She said, "I felt the love and care of everyone in that room trying to make our unorthodox day still one for the books."

The bride said there wasn’t a dry eye in the room, and that guests and strangers alike were all "overcome with emotion."

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Shortly after the first dance, the shelter-in-place orders were lifted, and the couple's wedding reception was allowed to continue on as planned.

The issue, however, was that the power in the resort had not been restored, so wedding guests experienced a very different wedding reception than they'd thought.

A couple had to shelter in place during their wedding reception due to a tornado warning in the Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, area.  (Sarah Schilke; iStock)

Thanks to 35 battery-powered lights from the DJ and a Bluetooth speaker, the couple made do for a wedding to remember. 

"As long as you have your support system, whether that's your spouse, family, friends or all three, nothing else really matters," the bride said. 

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She added, "On your wedding day, or any day for that matter, don't sweat the small stuff, but don't sweat the big stuff either. You might end up with an amazing memory that you couldn't have ever imagined possible."