North Texas couple replan wedding after Springtown tornado destroys venue

Just days before their wedding, a North Texas couple is scrambling to regroup after a tornado destroyed their venue, adding to a week already marked by family loss and heartbreak.  

When Taylor Flores got the call from Covered Bridge Venue, it couldn't have come at a worse time.

"We had a very unfortunate week or a few weeks leading up to our wedding here," Flores explained. "So, it was kind of like a domino effect of just everything hitting the fan right there."

The Rockwall resident was about to get on a flight home from her grandfather's funeral, just a week before her own wedding at Covered Bridge Venue.

The venue hosts hundreds of events every year — and it took one of the toughest beatings from the tornado that rocked Springtown on Saturday. Owner Ricky Dauenhauer said there was about $4 million in damages that could take 18 months to repair.

"It's been a lot," said Travis Arcangioli. "My family has been a big support. They want this wedding to happen."

That wasn't the only bad news groom Travis Arcangioli received over the weekend: his grandfather had just passed away as well.

"It's heartbreaking that he won't be there," Arcangioli said. "The whole family was supposed to be there, and so we're down one now."

While they processed that heartbreak, the couple spent Monday and Tuesday touring new venues. They booked Covered Bridge Venue a year and a half ago and now had five days to find a new place.

"We had everyone staying with us," Flores said. "We had our welcome dinner before; we had entertainment for both nights, and bands and all these things catered to just that venue."

While Flores says she was initially told by Covered Bridge Venue that she would not be getting her money back, after CBS News Texas asked the owner about her situation on Monday, he told us they would get a refund. Flores said she would have to wait until the venue got its insurance payment, though.

"We're working with them to get them places and we're going to take care of them," Dauenhauer said. "We're going to make sure that we take care of them and get them all their money back. And then, in the same aspect of that, we're going to try to help them find another event center."

For the nervous couple, things are starting to go their way. Tuesday, they were able to pick up Arcangioli's custom tux — a perfect fit.

"It's starting to look up," Arcangioli said. "The clouds are starting to disperse, the sun's coming out."

Plus, the couple booked a new venue in Granbury, just in time.

"I have to be strong," Arcangioli said. "I want her to have the best day I can. So I have to be strong for her to have a good day."