Despite Ian's punch, wedding day saved on wet Pawleys Island

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Saturday turned out to be a sparklingly beautiful fall day in Pawleys Island, an idyllic place to hold a wedding sandwiched between the Atlantic oceanfront and expansive marshland that typify South Carolina's coastal beauty.

For two visiting families, the perfect wedding almost got derailed by Hurricane Ian's landfall and aftermath.

Mary Lord and her family traveled to the island from Fort Worth, Texas, for the Saturday wedding of her son, Eric.

AJ McCullough's family came from Sunset Beach, North Carolina, to see her daughter, Monroe, walk down the aisle as the bride.

PAWLEYS ISLAND TOOK 'QUITE A BLOW' FROM HURRICANE IAN: MAYOR BRIAN HENRY | FOX NEWS VIDEO

Mary Lord of Ft. Worth, Texas, mother of groom Eric Lord raises her hands hearing the news that some of the bridesmaids’ dresses, tuxedoes are being brought as A.J. McCullough of Sunset Beach, NC, mother of bride Monroe McCullough stands by on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.  (AP Photo/Allen Breed)

The families had been staying in rental houses across the street from one another on the island, about 72 miles (116 kilometers) up South Carolina's coast from Charleston.

Then the storm hit.

Ian was a Category 1 hurricane when it came ashore near Georgetown, about 13 miles (8 kilometers) from Pawleys. Hours of wind and rain battered the beach town, whipping surf reportedly as high as 25 feet (7.6 meters) that washed over the town's iconic pier, strewing its pylons along the shoreline and pushing them up to beachfront properties. Feet of soggy sand piled up under the elevated homes, stranding and waterlogging some vehicles.

In the mad rush to get off the island to