A helicopter carrying a newly married couple and their pilot crashed in Dawson County, Georgia, on Friday night, killing the groom and the pilot and leaving the bride hospitalized. Jesni Fiji survived the wreck but remained in the hospital after the flight went down as the couple was reportedly leaving their wedding celebration.

The dead were identified as Dave Fiji and pilot Nikhil Nargundkar. Jesni Fiji was injured. The crash turned what the family called a beautiful, perfect wedding into a night of grief, with Dave’s parents saying they had not been able to reach him after the helicopter took off and the celebration ended in silence.

The helicopter ride was part of the couple’s wedding package, and Dave Fiji’s father, Fiji George, said the family had taken joy in the day before the crash. Dave worked as a pilot for Endeavor Air, adding another layer of disbelief to a fatal flight that ended just minutes after the newlyweds boarded. The family said they are leaning on their faith as they mourn their son, while Jesni remains hospitalized and slowly improves.

Weather sat at the center of the family’s account of the flight. Dave’s mother, Phebah Fiji, said the ride had first been expected to be called off because of weather concerns, but when the helicopter arrived the pilot was confident rain would not be a problem. The family said it had started raining, yet the trip still went ahead on what should have been the happiest night of their lives.

That leaves the question that matters most now: what caused the crash. Three people were aboard the helicopter, and two died in the wreck, but investigators have not said what brought it down. For now, the newlyweds’ final ride is remembered not for the wedding package that included it, but for the lives it ended and the one it left hanging between injury and recovery.