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Pair who left before slide will marry on Saturday
'We feel like we have to go on,' says bride-to-be
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More from Other News"We both kind of feel a little guilty doing this, but we feel like we have to go on," Konczal said.
Konczal, a server at the Ojai Valley Inn, and McIntyre, a sculptor, had left their rented home just one half-hour before the hillside slid down and swallowed 13 homes, killing at least 10 people.
"We went to Los Angeles to get wedding supplies," Konczal said, adding that the sheeting rain was giving her a bad feeling as they left.
"I kept saying, 'We're not going to get back in there,' " Konczal said.
They had no idea how bad it would get.
McIntyre's mother, Gisela Woggon, who lives with the couple, had called them on Konczal's cell phone minutes after the mudslide to let them know what had happened. Then she left the house with as much of the wedding paraphernalia as she could carry -- including Konczal's wedding dress.
"My mom was in a panic, throwing wadded-up things in a box," McIntyre said.
McIntyre and Konczal were finally able to return to their home Wednesday to retrieve the rest of their wedding supplies. They barely recognized their community.
"We were shocked by what we saw," Konczal said. "There were cars and boats that looked like they had been to the wrecking yard."
Another mudslide about 25 feet long spilled down the hill in back of their home, but the house itself was undamaged.
Konczal said it looks as if they will be able to access their outdoor wedding site at Lake Casitas this Saturday, where they are planning a Western-style wedding, complete with a tuxedo with tails for McIntyre that is "right out of Tombstone," he said.
Konczal will wear an antique-style wedding gown. Guests will be served a barbecue dinner on tables with red-and-white-checkered tablecloths. They will be seated on hay bales.
In spite of the fact that the pair have decided to go ahead with what they consider to be a life-affirming ceremony, "It feels a little weird, in light of what's happening," Konczal said.
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