When the Nor’Easter Derailed Everything, Her Gym Stepped Up & Transformed Into a Wedding Venue

When the nor’easter made it impossible for Grace Sepe and Francisco Weisser Vasquez to hold their September 27 wedding at Cruz Golf and Country Club in Farmingdale, Grace was ready to cancel entirely. The water had reached the car doors. She had had enough. Then her employer, Life Time Middletown-Red Bank, stepped in. The athletic country club transformed its Life Time Lounge into a wedding venue—the first wedding the club had ever hosted—with staff working to make it happen, guests rallying in the group chat and Francisco staying calm and positive through all of it. About 60 of their original 75 guests made it. And the day became, in Grace’s own words, a day defined entirely by the outpouring of love from everyone around them.

Navigating the Nor’Easter

“The original wedding venue was the Cruz Golf and Country Club in Farmingdale, and they were wonderful doing everything to help us make it work,” says Grace.

“We ultimately had to cancel the Cruz Golf Club because it was too risky having people in two separate locations one for ceremony, and one for the reception. Not to mention my husband was basically flooded in our Highlands home and I was at an Airbnb with my family in Neptune. The water had reached the car doors, making it impossible to get his mother and brother and my husband to the venue. Our basement was flooded at this point. I had had enough—I just wanted to cancel. Despite the fact that our families came from Brazil, Australia and Canada, I was exhausted of fighting this storm.”

Moving The Wedding Location

After the rental tent company notified the couple on Friday that they weren’t going to be able to provide them the tent for their big day, Grace’s employer, Life Time Middletown-Red Bank—a Monmouth County athletic country club—acted fast. The club transformed its Life Time Lounge into a wedding venue, making it the club’s first-ever wedding!

“Everyone at Life Time was working to make this happen for me and I was speechless,” says Grace.

“We originally had 75 guests and about 15 were unable to make it. My husband began our group texts to all of our guests, and everyone was supporting us.”

Advice For Other Couples

“There is really no way to prepare for something like this. The weather was so conflicting,” says Grace. “Every time we checked, it was different. Sometimes it was saying no rain. Other times, it was 100 percent. It was an emotional rollercoaster.”

“Honestly, even if we had planned it all indoors to begin with, we were still running the risk of people and vendors not being able to come because the conditions had become so extreme. This is the time where your relationships really get tested.”

“Thankfully, my husband was calm positive and comforting. He just wanted to see me happy no matter what it took, and I felt that from everyone involved.”

Despite the Storm, The Wedding Was Great

“From my guests, to my co-workers and all the people we had hired, no one wanted the day to pass by without a wedding taking place,” says Grace. “It was like God was speaking to me through all of this and showing me how much people really love us and wanted to see us happily married.”

“I will never forget this day, not because of all the obstacles we were facing. But because of the outpouring love and support we got from everyone. I’m forever grateful Life Time opened their doors to our families, guests, cooks and the entertainment. This wedding would have never happened if Life Time didn’t pull all this together and have the wedding in the club.”