A Bay area couple’s love story is so strong that it's withstood hurricane force winds.

  • Anne, Rick Rhodes' wedding plans interrupted by Hurricane Irma
  • Both went back to work helping others during storm
  • Couple plans to reschedule honeymoon after hurricane season

Hurricane Irma put a damper on Anne and Rick Rhodes’ “I Do’s” and honeymoon, but instead of getting upset, they got to work.

For the past year, when she wasn’t working as a nurse manager at St. Joseph’s Hospital North, Anne Rhodes spent her free time planning her dream wedding.

Right before the big day, an uninvited guest named Irma tried to ruin her plans.

"Five minutes before the ceremony was supposed to take place a torrential downpour happened,” Anne said.

Making matters worse, the cruise out of Miami they'd planned to take was canceled as Irma rolled in. But they didn’t sit around sulking: Anne went to the hospital and Rick went to work as an emergency manager for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In hindsight, Rick Rhodes admitted their choice for their wedding date and honeymoon was questionable, considering their careers.

"As an emergency manager I was thinking, 'Why did I plan a wedding in the middle of hurricane season?" Rick said. "I had an obligation here, as we both did to our patients and with me for our veterans that are very close and dear to my heart."

Thus, the couple spent their first week as husband and wife sleeping at their jobs while helping others. It wasn’t an ideal wedding week, but they said it's a blessing in disguise.

"Everybody says the old saying that if it rains on your wedding day it's a blessing, so I thought with a hurricane coming it's going to be fabulous," Rick said.

They said the most important thing was that their families were safe, and they’ll be hand-in-hand for the rest of their lives. Even a hurricane couldn’t get in the way of their happily ever after.

"It's so great -- he's just an awesome man. I can't say enough," Anne said. "I tell everyone he's an emergency manager so I feel incredibly safe having him in our lives."

The Rhodes' will re-schedule their honeymoon cruise, but said they’ll definitely wait until after hurricane season.