N.J. wedding moves to Life Time gym after nor'easter floods couple's Highlands home

RED BANK, New Jersey -- What was supposed to be an outdoor wedding turned into an unexpected indoor celebration after last Saturday's nor'easter flooded the couple's home and forced a last-minute venue change.

Newlyweds Francisco and Grace Weisser Vasquez had planned to hold their wedding at Cruz Golf and Country Club, chosen for its setting.

"We had a Brazilian barbecue, so we picked the Cruz Golf and Country Club because they had the perfect setting for a Tuscan wedding in the woods. They have beautiful trees. The landscape is phenomenal," Grace Weisser Vasquez said.

But flooding in Highlands trapped the groom and family members who had traveled from around the world at the house.

"We wake up in the morning and of course it's a torrential rainstorm and he said, 'Grace our basement's flooded. There's water everywhere,'" Grace Weisser Vasquez said.

The couple's wedding was ultimately moved to Life Time Middletown-Red Bank, where Grace works part time as a chef. Staff members at the facility quickly transformed the space into a wedding venue.

"Chris my Life Café manager, he shot me a text and said, 'call me. It's not an emergency but call me.' I called him up and the first thing he said is, 'can we plan a wedding here?' After a couple of seconds, I thought about it and I said, 'sure let's do it,'" said Alex Armiento, general manager at Life Time Middletown-Red Bank.

According to staff, the transformation happened in just a few hours.

"Five hours we were set and ready to go. Ever since the first day I interviewed here and walked the space, I said I want to do a wedding here. Was this the way I wanted to do a wedding? No, but I can officially say we've done it," said Chris Pica of Life Time Middletown-Red Bank.

Staff member Karen Hennessy helped coordinate the effort, citing the number of family members who had traveled from abroad for the wedding.

"She had family that had come in from all directions or we would've just rescheduled, but they were all leaving to go back to Canada to Australia to Brazil and you know I had gotten married a year and a half previous. Her husband came and saved the day for me. I had construction that was half done family coming in, and he finished all the work for me. Grace made all the cupcakes for my wedding, so it kind of felt like I have to make this happen for her. She did the same thing for me," Hennessy said.

Despite the unexpected circumstances, Grace Weisser Vasquez said the relocated ceremony exceeded her expectations.

"I was still distraught and everything, until I got here. Everything was perfect. I couldn't have done it better myself," she said.

Armiento credited the staff who helped make the event possible.

"I can't take any of the credit. Chris's team, Karen and Julian, everyone that works in the café in the lounge. They really brought it to life. I just said yes," he said.

The couple's wedding went forward with the help of Life Time staff, who recreated the event indoors after severe weather disrupted their original plans.