Couple's Apartment Went Up In Flames Hours Before Wedding
By Emma G. Gallegos in News on Jul 27, 2015 3:34PM
Just hours before his wedding ceremony on Friday, Andrew Taylor called up his fiancée to deliver some distressing news: Their West Side apartment had gone up in flames.
"I obviously started freaking out at the hotel," Dayleen Marrero, 27, told the Chicago Tribune. "He was like, 'It's going to be fine. Maybe we're not going to lose everything.'"
Taylor knocked on the doors of 20 tenants as the building at 128 N. Campbell Ave. went up in flames. The 2-story building was home to artists like the bride and groom, as well as commercial space. Taylor was able to rescue his tuxedo and the couple's pitbull, but he wasn't able to retrieve much else, including their wedding rings and irreplaceable items like photos and journals. A wedding marshal was able to salvage their marriage license and a letter Taylor planned to read at their wedding. Two groomsmen who lived next door and weren't home at the time of the fire lost their dog and a cat.
The wedding ceremony went on. Though the couple admits they were in a daze, they said that otherwise the wedding went off without a hitch and it was the ceremony they dreamed of. Friends helped one of the groomsmen find an outfit to replace his tux. The couple borrowed a ring and used an engagement ring for the ceremony.
A GoFundMe page set up by a friend for the couple says, "They pulled it together. They showed up for each other and were both beaming as they each married their best friend. They danced the night away, ate cake, sang karaoke, and spent their night with their close friends and family."
In their first days as a married couple, they have been crashing on friend's couches. They're still waiting for the chance to sift through their apartment's wreckage to see what else they might be able to salvage. The GoFundMe page has raised over $8,000 to help them replace all the replaceables they lost and start a new life.
"I was the saddest I've ever been in my whole life, and I was the happiest as well," Marrero told the Tribune. "So it's like a roller coaster of emotions."