Illinois couple attends Vero Beach wedding amid Hurricane Irma warnings
Jon Santucci
VERO BEACH – Rex and Melissa Howard stood in the sand Saturday afternoon, taking pictures of each other with the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean serving as the backdrop.
The Howards don’t get these kinds of photo opportunities in their hometown of Galesburg, Illinois.
“We have tornadoes, but not hurricanes,” Melissa Howard said. “We don’t have anything like this.”
The couple has been in Vero Beach the past week for a wedding, which was earlier Saturday.
“They still had the wedding,” Rex Howard said. “This is crazy. Mother Nature, I guess. I’m just glad (Hurricane Irma is) getting pushed over (toward the west coast).
Rex Howard said watching the constant updates and tracking Hurricane Irma was nerve-wracking, but his grandmother, a Vero Beach resident, reassured him.
“She’s basically an amateur meteorologist,” Melissa Howard said, smiling.
Melissa Howard was in Vero Beach last year as well and went through Hurricane Matthew.
“We’re talking about coming back when there’s not a hurricane,” she said.
MORE: Follow Hurricane Irma’s effects on the Treasure Coast
MORE: USA Today’s complete coverage of Hurricane Irma