Wedding guests use Ford F-150 to save Michigan reception after power outage

(WXYZ) — When a Farmington Hills wedding reception went dark, an unexpected party guest saved the day: a Ford F-150.

The newlyweds, Vetrivel Chandrasekaran and Rachna Nanda Kumar, along with their guests were enjoying a backyard celebration on August 11 when a power outage cut the lights, music — and all of the fun.

Photo courtesy Sarah Sutherland Photography: Rachna Nanda Kumar & Vetrivel Chandrasekaran

“Everybody was having a great time, and then everything just went dark and the music stopped. And that was a total bummer,” said wedding guest Harish Thiruvengadam of Royal Oak.

So Harish and his wife, Swetha Shailendra, turned to their chariot, the new 2021 Ford F-150 with the PowerBoost engine and a 7.2kW generator, for an assist.

Pictured: Swetha Shailendra and Harish Thiruvengadam

“We ran across the street, I grabbed the truck, cleared a couple of cars, backed it into the driveway, ran some extension cords and and we plugged it in,” said Harish.

A video from the event shows the plug go in and the lights go on: “F-150, baby! Ford saves the day,” you hear in the background.

Harish said some of the guests didn’t realize the truck restored the power, and once they found out what happened, they started asking questions, shocked at how quiet the generator actually was.

“It was a fun experience, walking the people through what's going on and how awesome the truck is,” he said.

Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, tweeted out the video, saying “love seeing F-150 save the day.”

For Harish and Swetha, both Ford Motor Company employees, it was a moment they won’t soon forget.

“We always talk about Ford products with our friends, and just to see them experience it was a whole other level,” said Swetha.

When asked if they plan to bring the F-150 to the next backyard wedding, they said definitely. Swetha joked that they may just get invited because of the F-150.