A Southern California couple who lost their first home in the devastating Eaton Fire exchanged vows on the under-construction site where their Altadena house burned to the ground.
Photos of newlyweds Kenny Rotter and Morgan Soloway showed the couple smiling alongside family and friends on the charred lot as the home’s new wooden frame rose behind them.
The emotional ceremony took place on July 5 at the site where their future kitchen will stand.
Rotter said the idea came to the couple while they were staying with friends who took them in after the fire.
“I was like, what is the best way to create something positive from this moment,” he told The California Post. “I have told people that this has been the best and worst time of my life. The worst because, obvious reasons. And the best because the outpouring of love and support from all directions has been so meaningful.”
Rotter said he took comfort in knowing Soloway and their dogs had survived the blaze.
“I knew everything important to me was safe,” he said, adding that the experience was “oddly freeing” because their immediate needs had been met.
Soloway joked she did not share the same sentiment.
Rather than choosing a traditional wedding venue, the couple decided to marry where their home once stood.
Planning the ceremony with only eight weeks’ notice proved stressful, Soloway said, but celebrating on the property “feels right.”
Around 130 guests attended, far more than the couple expected on such short notice. The wedding was incorporated into their rebuilding plans with their contractor, who included the event in the construction agreement.
Saying their vows surrounded by loved ones on the property where they plan to spend the rest of their lives made the day especially emotional.
“It was extremely emotional, but in a very good way,” the couple said. “These people supported us post-fire, and they’ll be with us in the house forever.”
Instead of signing a guest book, friends and family signed the home’s wooden frame.
The couple first met in December 2017 via the dating app Bumble after discovering they had a mutual friend. A coffee date quickly turned into a lasting relationship. Over the years, they lived in Pasadena and Altadena, fostered more than 20 dogs, completed Tough Mudder races and traveled whenever they could.
Their rebuilding effort has steadily progressed since the fire.
“We broke ground in April and are in the middle of framing now,” the couple said.
“We got engaged January 2024,” the couple said.
The couple got engaged when Rotter proposed during a magic show at a Las Vegas distillery. After buying their first home in Altadena in March 2024, they decided to put their wedding planning on hold while they settled into the house.
The Eaton Fire tore through Altadena and Pasadena in January, destroying 9,418 structures and damaging another 1,073. More than 6,000 homes were lost and 19 people were killed.
“Our home burning down was devastating and extremely disorienting,” the couple said.
Although they were grateful to have family to stay with after evacuating, everything they had worked for was gone.
Friends launched a GoFundMe campaign shortly after the Eaton Fire, describing Rotter and Soloway as people who were always the first to help others.
The fundraiser raised about $50,000 to help cover expenses not paid by disaster relief as the couple searched for temporary housing and began rebuilding.
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