Witnessing a wedding during Hurricane Matthew in 2016

As prescient as the song “Edge of a Hurricane” seems after Hurricane Helene in 2024, I actually wrote the song about another hurricane that barely touched the area In 2016. (You can read the original blog post and listen to my “demo” recording of it here.) My family and I had accidentally walked by two people getting married in a wedding circle near the Pavilion at Olivette in Asheville, NC. We had traveled to Asheville from Charlotte to get a way from the remnants of Hurricane Matthewn and were exploring the waterfront area of a brand new development that didn't even have houses in it yet. We had bought a lot and planned to build there and wanted to show our family the new development.

We crossed over the bridge from the Pavilion area to an area called “Azalea Island” and there they were: the couple, the officiant and the photographer. As we backed away from the ceremony, I noticed two umbrellas beside the bridge. I realized this couple planned to get married even if it meant marrying during a hurricane. I couldn’t get the image out of my head. My first impulse had been to run over to them and offer to sing something, but then I thought: “what would you sing for a couple getting married in a hurricane?” And that’s when the song began to start to take shape in my head (“I wish you peace; I wish you hope; I wish you love”).