Middletown Couple Has No Regrets Despite Fire During Wedding Reception

When it rains on your wedding day it’s supposed to be good luck. But what does it mean when there’s a fire on your wedding day?

A Middletown couple made the best of it when their wedding reception was cut short by a fire Sunday.

Jessica Knapp said it all started with the perfect proposal.

“He got down on a knee under the moonlight on the top level of a cruise ship and surprised me,” she said. The proposal was followed by six months of meticulous planning for a summer wedding at St. Clements Castle and Marina in Portland.

“We see it from the river when we boat by and we thought that would be the place to do it,” David Knapp explained.

Jessica and David said the morning of the wedding was as good as it gets.

“Everything went off without a hitch - the limo showed up on time, harpist was playing beautiful music when she arrived,” David described.

The couple said it was a beautiful ceremony followed by a flawless reception. But when they were cutting the cake, the fire alarm went off.

“I thought it was a fire drill and I was a little annoyed they were doing a fire drill during our reception but the staff came out looking very alarmed,” David said.

Staff informed the couple and their guests that it was not a drill - the back of the building was burning and they had to get out.

“As soon as we exited the building you could hear the roar of the flames,” David said.

“I looked to my right and you could see the smoke billowing a few flames coming out immediately,” Jessica added.

While emergency crews flooded the scene, the newlyweds and their guests spent the next three hours waiting and watching.

“They had to pump water into this building that had my dress, our gifts, the cake, our cards,” Jessica said.

But the couple said the staff and firefighters were wonderful in a tough situation.

“One of the firefighters when he found my purse because I had left it in the dressing room he personally walked it out to us,” Jessica said.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Knapp don’t have any regrets. The couple even took a photo to commemorate the unusual end to the event.

“No one was hurt - that is the most important thing - and I got what I wanted out of the day,” David said, smiling at Jessica.

The Knapps said they’re already looking forward to the honeymoon – a cruise just like the proposal.

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