An anniversary to remember: Charleroi couple wed in New Orleans 15 years ago before Hurricane Katrina struck

By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com

Ken and Brooke Ramsdell fell in love New Orleans.
That’s why the Charleroi couple tied the knot in a romantic and intimate ceremony in the French Quarter Aug. 26, 2005.
As they celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary Wednesday, their love has proven it can stand the test of time — and one of the most devastating natural disasters in U.S. history — Hurricane Katrina.
Before their life as husband and wife flipped upside down, they were gifted with an unexpected, renewed relationship with Ken’s uncle, Larry Ramsdell, who they ran into the day before their nuptials.
“We had lost contact with him and did not know he lived there until the day before our wedding when we were walking along the street after getting our marriage license and I saw my uncle Larry.
“He set us up the next day for our wedding with flowers and chocolates and gave Brooke something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue and we have been in touch with him ever since.”
The tropical depression that became Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on Aug. 23, 2005, and meteorologists were soon able to warn people in the Gulf Coast states that a major storm was on its way. By Aug. 28, evacuations were underway across the region.
Katrina made landfall off the coast of Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2005, three days after the couple said ‘I do.”
The Hurricane hit land as a Category 3 storm with winds reaching speeds as high as 120 miles per hour, breaching the levees in New Orleans.
The deadly storm also flattened much of the Mississippi coast and killed as many as 1,800 people.
Because of the ensuing destruction and loss of life, the storm is often considered one of the worst in U.S. history.
An estimated 1,200 people died as a direct result of the storm, which also cost an estimated $108 billion in property damage, making it the costliest storm on record.
The Ramsdells flew to New Orleans Aug. 24, 2005, and got married two days later on a beautiful and sunny Friday afternoon.
They knew of the hurricane and planned to fly home two days later before it made landfall, but Mother Nature had other plans.
“The night we got married, Katrina was supposed to hit Florida, but not long after that it veered off course,” Ken Ramsdell said.
On Sunday night, the couple learned from Hotel Monteleone staff all flights out of the city were canceled. They were told to hunker down.

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The Ramsdell family today.