Tornado crashes wedding photo shoot in New Mexico
What started as a dream wedding day for William and Daynnely Carrillo ended in a viral moment that they, and their photographer, will ever forget.
The couple was exchanging vows in Portales, New Mexico, on May 25 when the weather began to turn. Just as they finished their ceremony, the wind picked up and dark clouds rolled in.
"It just got windy and then it just got cloudy," Daynnely said. "It just instantly happened, and we just said, 'OK, let's go take pictures.'"
Photographer Chesnea Clemmons stepped outside to scout the lighting and what she saw stopped her in her tracks. A tornado was forming in the distance.
"I walked around the corner of the venue to take pictures of outside and my phone went off and it was like tornado detected in your area," Clemmons said. "I looked up and saw it forming, and I honestly just froze."
Instead of rushing for cover, the newlyweds embraced the moment. They posed in their wedding attire while the funnel loomed behind them, churning over the plains.
"It's just an iconic moment," Clemmons said. "You're never going to get that opportunity again and I mean, being the Plains, we all are pretty weather-aware. We knew it wasn't close enough for us to be in complete danger."
Clemmons captured a dramatic photo of the couple kissing, the tornado twisting behind them under an ominous sky and wrote "Nothing says for better or worse like saying I do with Mother Nature throwing down in the background."
Once she posted the image, the response was immediate and overwhelming.
"Oh my goodness, I am just literally blown away by this picture," she said in a post on Facebook. "It is crazy! What started as a normal wedding day just turned into pure Bible-ness...News stations, people from around the country have reached out. It's a blessing and I'm humbled but I'm just not able to take it all in."
Clemmons, who is a full-time stay-at-home mom and a guidance counselor at a school, photographs weddings part-time. But she's never seen anything like this.
"I know just how unbelievable this whole experience has been. Crazy is the only word I can think of. Mind-blown is all I have...it was just the right place at the right time. I've never even been that close to an actual tornado. I love weather, I love storm chasing, but I've never just stumbled upon a tornado literally."
"The tornado was rated EF1 with 90-mph winds that damaged trees, power poles and a farm," AccuWeather Meteorologist Jesse Ferrell said. There are no reports of any injuries.
"It was truly just a moment of epic-ness," Clemmons said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Princess Charlotte Set To Shine With a Bigger Royal Role This Summer
Princess Charlotte has a big summer ahead of her as her parents, Prince William and Kate Middleton continue to expand her royal role — one event at a time. The young royal, who turned 10 last month, is expected to have a busy summer holiday after wrapping up her school year in the coming weeks. The first event on her agenda will be Trooping the Cloud on June 14, per Hello! Magazine. As mom, Kate has been protective over her three children, including sons Prince George, 11, and Prince Louis, 7, so she only wants them to step into the spotlight when they are ready. More from SheKnows Prince Harry Reportedly Explored a Major Personal Change That Would Rock the Royal Family It's why a palace insider described Charlotte to People as 'a strong character' who is 'almost wise beyond her years.' That calm presence that royal fans consistently witness is 'truly her personality — it's not forced,' per childrenswear designer Amaia Arrieta. 'She looks very confident and at ease with herself and the environment she's in,' she told the media outlet. 'The maturity that comes with that responsibility—she seems to nail it every time.' It's why tennis fans are likely to see Princess Charlotte back at Wimbledon in July with her older brother to support their mother's royal patronage of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Charlotte handled meeting Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz like a pro last summer, so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to see more moments like that this summer. Her leadership skills were noticed early on with her late great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, pointing out that Charlotte had great confidence, even as a little girl. 'The queen has joked that at home, even at Buckingham Palace, Charlotte rules the roost. And I think that very much is the feeling amongst the Cambridges,' royal expert Katie Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight in September 2019. 'Prince George may be the eldest child, but I think it's Charlotte who calls the shots and has everyone running rings around her.' Still, William and Kate are making sure Charlotte and her siblings experience as normal a childhood as they can. That means there will be plenty of downtime at their country home at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, England, and the royal family retreat to Balmoral Castle in Scotland in August. No matter what the summer of 2025 brings, Princess Charlotte appears to be of SheKnows From Free-Range to Fully Offbeat, These Celebs Embrace Unconventional Parenting Styles These '90s Girl Names Are All That and a Bag of Chips 26 Stunning, Unique Jewelry Brands & Pieces for Teens
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
After Pregnancy Loss, Mom of 2 Finds Comfort in Taking Care of 'Reborn' Doll: 'We've Got Our Baby Boy' (Exclusive)
Christina Keeler is opening up about finding comfort in her reborn dolls after pregnancy loss The mom of two tells PEOPLE she was 10 weeks pregnant when she miscarried this spring "I don't really have a baby boy, but I get to do the fun baby boy stuff, get the cute little clothes, get to name him," she saysA mom of two, who has built an online following showcasing her lifelike reborn dolls, is sharing her heartbreak after a pregnancy loss — and opening up about how the dolls have helped her find comfort. Christina Keeler, who shares daughters Joy, 6, and Grace, 8 with husband William Keeler, was 10 weeks pregnant when she miscarried this spring, which affected her even more intensely than the previous pregnancy loss she experienced in 2015. Christina, 40, has a YouTube channel called 'The Reborn Family' — where she'll be sharing her entire story in full at a later date — filled with videos where she takes her hyper-realistic dolls out in public or cares for them in her Houston home. While she disclosed the story of her past pregnancy loss to her 38,000 subscribers on the channel, this time it feels different because she's sharing her pain in 'real time.' The stay-at-home mom — who hopes her story will help remind people to be 'kind and understanding" — isn't afraid to give insight into her life, but it sometimes comes at a cost. The Keelers met in Christina's home state of California and welcomed their two daughters after their first pregnancy loss. In 2020, they moved to William's 700-person hometown in Pennsylvania, so he could run the paper that was owned by his family. Despite the idyllic setting, she found she had extra time on her hands. So, when she watched a documentary about "reborns," she was eventually inspired to purchase one of her own, although she admits it took some deliberation to make the plunge. 'In my head, I was thinking, 'I want one so bad, but I was too embarrassed to say anything at first,'' she remembers. Christina says getting her first reborn doll helped her talk to William about their pregnancy loss for the first time. 'We had never talked about it at that point,' says Christina. 'We just came home from the hospital that day and just never talked about it again.' Hesitant at first, William got behind her affinity for the dolls, and even helped create some of the content for her channel once he saw the happiness it brought her. Beyond her own enjoyment, Christina wanted to spread awareness through her content for other doll owners who found solace and joy by interacting with their reborns. But when people in town began to talk, William's father gave him an ultimatum: Christina needed to stop creating doll content or William would have to leave the company. When William rejected the demand, he was fired, his wife says. So, less than a year after their move, the Keelers packed up their family and headed to Texas, where William now runs an e-commerce website for car parts. The couple was open to having a third baby — Christina always dreamed of having three children, like her mom — and they were both excited when Christina got the positive test result. But their happiness turned to grief a couple of months later. Christina says the side effects have been painful, both emotionally and physically. 'Your hormones are fluctuating. You are still dealing with nausea and all this stuff, but you know that there's not going to be a baby,' she says. 'So, you have to deal with all the bad parts of pregnancy, but you don't get the good part at the end.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. While her body was still healing, Christina says she wanted nothing to do with her reborn dolls at first. Later on, she found comfort in taking care of the most recent reborn doll she purchased. It's a boy, just like the baby boy she and her husband had dreamed of. 'Obviously, I know he's not real,' she says. 'I don't really have a baby boy, but I get to do the fun baby boy stuff, get the cute little clothes, get to name him.' Christina, who has been stroller shopping for the doll, says that even though the experience isn't the same as having a newborn, it does give her "a little nugget of that" same joy. She adds, 'We've got our baby boy.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
June 2025 full moon: It's been years since you've seen one that looks like this
June 2025's full moon is coming to a sky near you in the early morning hours of June 11. And while all June full moons ride low in the sky, spring's final full moon this year will be the lowest full moon in almost 20 years. The strawberry moon will rise on the evening of Tuesday, June 10, and will shine into Wednesday morning, a "sight that can be seen around the world," said Brian Lada, an AccuWeather meteorologist. June's full moon is called the strawberry moon because it signaled to some Native American tribes that it was the time of year to gather ripening wild strawberries, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. Notably, this year's strawberry moon could actually have a reddish glow, due to how low it will sit in the sky and the haze from wildfires. June's full moon will reach peak illumination on June 11, 2025, at 3:44 a.m. ET, the Almanac said. But it will look plenty full as it rises the evening before, June 10. The strawberry moon is the most colorful of the year because it takes a low, shallow path across the sky, said Bob Bonadurer, director of the Milwaukee Public Museum's planetarium. The June full moon's arc across the sky means moonlight must travel through more of the Earth's atmosphere, which can give it a colorful tint. "So there's a chance it will actually look a little bit reddish or pink, and, and so that may also be part of the origin of the name," Chris Palma, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University, told AccuWeather. Smoke in the atmosphere from Canadian wildfires could also act to create a colorful moon. According to EarthSky, the moon will the lowest in the sky that it's been since 2006. "That's because we're in the midst of a major lunar standstill," which has to do with the moon's orbit around the Earth. "It's all about the inclination of the moon's orbit, which undergoes an 18.6-year cycle," noted EarthSky's John Jardine Goss. "The cycle happens because the moon's orbit is being slowly dragged around – mostly due to the pull of the sun – every 18.6 years." This year's major lunar standstill culminated in January 2025. And we're still close enough to it that the standstill is affecting the path of this June full moon, EarthSky said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A notable June 2025 Strawberry full moon visible on June 11
