Bride and groom watch on in horror as home burns hours before wedding

A bride and groom have narrowly escaped a raging fire which claimed their home the night before their wedding.

Thankfully, the husband-to-be managed to save the couple's wedding rings before they were consumed by the blaze.

The fire broke out inside the property, in Maryland, in the early morning just hours before Matthew and Coral Denakis were due to marry.

Around 17 wedding guests were asleep at the time and were forced to flee when the fire took hold of Coral's parent's house.

"My dad said he and my mom were laying in bed for a little while thinking someone was cooking,” Coral tells PEOPLE.

"Then my mom saw the light of the fire outside of her bedroom window and they both jumped up and started grabbing everyone."

As the family was evacuating, Coral realised her fiancé was sleeping through the chaos.

"I ran back up and smacked him awake and said, 'Let’s go!'" Coral says.On his way out, Matthew had the foresight to grab their wedding rings.

"My first interaction with the fire was that I got smacked by my wife and heard 'fire' so I jumped out of bed, got the wedding rings, my wallet and the car keys, and ran downstairs," he says.

The family could only watch on in horror as the house burned – destroying their possessions and wedding gifts.Thankfully, Coral's gown was in the car and escaped the fire.

The next morning she began telling guests the wedding was off.

But Coral's mother had other ideas.

"My mom was completely composed and said told everyone to get ready, the wedding is on," Coral says.

Just hours later, the couple's family and friends gathered to watch Coral and Matthew exchange vows.

The fire has caused more than half a million dollars in damages and the family has set up a GoFundMe page to help rebuild their lives.

Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the blaze.