The Whole Town Teamed Up To Help A Couple After Venue Burns Down Hours Before Their Wedding

"There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about," Margaret Wheatley once said, and the town of Groton is really blessed to have just that.

Will Gilson, whose family has owned The Herb Lyceum - a historical wedding venue - since 1989, was devastated when early in the morning on the 1st of September, a fire scorched it all. Yet the entire community of the town teamed up to help and made sure that all of the scheduled weddings could still take place as planned.

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With four acres of fragrant herb gardens, greenhouses, and flowering trees, this beautifully renovated 19th century carriage house was a true dream destination for weddings. Located in scenic and historic Groton, Massachusetts, this enchanting place provided a cozy setting filled with rustic charm for people's most special moments.

On the 1st of September, when Will Gilson saw that The Herb Lyceum's carriage house was fully in flames, he understood that there was nothing he could do, but he was also worried about the wedding scheduled to take place there later that day.

"I'm standing there with the whole team that operates the space and we're watching this fire burn and our first thoughts are, 'How do we make sure that somebody's wedding isn't ruined because of this?'" Gilson recalled the memories. "The first thing that we did was try to find a [new] location for the couple."

Thanks to the nearby Groton Inn, Gilson was able to find a space for the wedding and even accommodate the couple with a menu of everything that they needed within an hour of the phone call he made to the hotel that day.

"It was just really heartwarming to have that sort of level of willingness on their side to just jump at it and say, 'Of course.' I mean, not even thinking about the finances of it, they just said, 'We'll figure it all out later,'" Gilson shared about Groton Inn's truly kind gesture.

The other local businesses were concerned about this tragedy too. One Groton resident, who had dinner at a nearby restaurant that Sunday, recalled that the restaurant even temporarily removed some dishes from its casual dining service to be able to help with food for the wedding.

"Apparently other places donated a venue, someone else donated flowers. It seemed very sweet," the resident shared. "The whole town banded together at the last minute to ensure that the wedding still could take place as scheduled."

Gilson mentioned that at the moment, they are working to address many upcoming weddings on their calendar in the weeks and months ahead while the entire community is still continuously helping in all possible ways.

"We've had folks reaching out to offer tents and heaters and extra hands if need be. And even the town had offered conservation land as ways that we could find a location to be able to do this as we keep navigating the future events," he shared and added that eventually their carriage house should be rebuilt.

For all those willing to help Gilson and his family, a GoFundMe campaign has been created.

"As we continue to deal with this tragedy, we know that we want to and need to rebuild so we can continue to share this amazing space with the public again," the message on the fundraising page states. "While nothing can replace the century-old beams and wood that were used in the renovation, the spirit of the building remains. This staple of the community must rise from the ashes."

The Herb Lyceum has been a part of Gilson's family for over 30 years and held a very special place in many people's hearts, too; therefore, such a loss was immeasurably heartbreaking.

Yet thanks to the wonderful Groton community, Gilson was not only able to hold all the weddings as scheduled, but also to have hope for rebuilding this truly special historical place.