Our Story Melanie and I were spared the worst of the physical damage. Our home did not suffer any damage, thankfully, but our new venue did get extensive damage from persistent flooding. (See photos below.) We survived the weeks with no power and using creek water to flush toilets. Our water has been turned on again, but will not be potable for several weeks from now. We have survived and are grateful for all of the volunteers who came to help our communities and the donations we have received in bottled water, and food, etc. from around the country. Our power was restored by a line crew from Massachusetts! The most amazing thing has been to witness how our community has banded together and supported one another throughout this crisis. Our Future? We do not know when the wedding business will really return to Western North Carolina. We’re sure that it will return eventually, but will that be in six months? Or a year from now? The bottom line is that we have no way of knowing when it will be a reliable source of income for us again. I am now 65 years old, and I am still healthy enough to hike the mountains and waterfalls that we go to for our elopement ceremonies. But I don’t see myself doing that forever. For the last five years Melanie and I have been developing a venue on our property to host micro-weddings, elopements and other small events. It’s called The Maple Grove at Smith Mill Creek. And as we slow down a little with Simple I Do’s, we had planned on our venue to take up the slack. Literally a week before Helene hit, we had just completed all major construction and were set to start heavily promoting it for spring of 2025. When Helene came in, the yard was flooded for 48 hours straight. Now, we have a lot of repairs to make in order for this to be fully restored. Fortunately we are well. Bruised a little bit financially. But we remain strong and determined as ever to overcome this setback. Thank you to all of those who have wondered how we have been and those who have prayed for us and our communities during this very difficult time. All the best, Mark Robertson (fb)

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