On Sept. 29, in the wake of Hurricane Helene, Peter Hoffman Batinski and Justin Robbins, the brother-in-law of his fiancée, Keri Young Terenzio, went for a walk around the hard-hit Biltmore Village area of Asheville, N.C. As they surveyed the damage and checked on some friends’ businesses, Mr. Batinski noticed a man in a vest that said “media” taking photos.

The next day, Sept. 30, a photo of Mr. Batinski and Mr. Robbins standing beside a toppled silo appeared on the front page of The New York Times. (The photographer in the vest was Sean Rayford.) Without power, cell coverage or newspaper delivery, however, Mr. Batinski never saw it.

And, of course, he had other concerns: He and Ms. Terenzio had to decide whether to cancel their Oct. 5 wedding.

For more than a year, the couple had been planning their nuptials in the Asheville area. They invited 115 people, many from around the country. But now, there was no water or power and local officials were pleading for outsiders to stay away. A wedding was the last thing on anyone’s mind.

Advertisement

Between nursing shifts at the overcrowded Mission Hospital, which had gotten its power back, Ms. Terenzio tried to communicate with guests. “Everyone out of town was telling me their hotels and flights were canceled, and we didn’t want people coming into town because there’s too much going on here, and the locals need the resources we do have,” she said.

The food truck they had booked couldn’t operate without power or water. The venue, a 33-acre farm outside of Asheville, also didn’t have power or water.

Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.luck9

• in
• The
• of
• luck9
• Wake