Submissions Open Soon

In a little more than 2 weeks the submission period opens up for next year's Wedding Pink. One deserving couple will be awarded a dream wedding nearly cost free. 

Have you checked out our team of vendors yet? We have the most incredible group coming together. The most current list of vendors can be found here:

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Please don't forget to pass along the information to anyone you know who may qualify to submit their story!

 

 

How I Dodged A Bullet

I don't often share my personal life on this blog but in light of recent events I feel compelled to update my story. My hope in doing so is that other women may learn from my experiences.


As you all know I had breast cancer at a young age, 22 years ago. I have always felt that I was lucky, knowing that I would survive a single mastectomy and chemo while there are so many people suffering through a whole lot more.

Given what I went through I have been diligent through the years of making sure doctor appointments and mammograms were never missed, often scheduling them exactly a year apart. This past April I went in for a routine mammogram and much to my surprise there were a few calcifications which apparently are fairly normal as we age. As I suspected the radiologist called me back in for an expanded view. I was quite relieved when he, Dr. S., said all is fine, let's keep an eye on it and come back in 6 months.

However, there was something still nagging at me. It just didn't seem right that I was seeing these changes on my mammogram after 22 years of consistently clean readings. I distinctly remember sitting in the darkened room with the radiologist and saying, "I am not going to be one of those women who come back in 6 months and then have a real problem." Dr. S. was still confident that all was fine and said that if it bothered me, we could have the calcifications removed.

A few weeks later I was back for a simple biopsy, no big deal. It wasn't until the next day when Dr. S. called with the news. He said, "It's a good thing we did the biopsy. The pathology indicates some atypical cells near the calcifications." Then, what scared me the most, is when he said, "we need to go back in and make sure this isn't the tip of the iceberg."  I thought to myself, holy cow, what did he mean by that?

Well a week later and after the MRI, which thankfully didn't reveal anything else, my husband and I were sitting in my oncologist's office making plans for a mastectomy and reconstruction. We left the oncologist's office nearly ecstatic that we have had the best possible outcome of a potentially horrible situation.

Fortunately I had an incredible team of doctors and the surgery went well. During my post-op appointment with my surgeon she gave me a copy of my pathology report. You can only imagine the shock I felt when I found out that I had ductal carcinoma in situ, which is stage 0 breast cancer. Fortunately it was early and non-invasive, but if left untreated, it more than likely would have eventually spread beyond that. The rest of the good news is that the prescribed treatment for me would have been a mastectomy which is what I just had. No further treatment is needed, thank goodness!

I still wonder what would have happened if I listened to Dr. S. that all was well and took his nonchalant wait and see attitude. In hind site I made all of the right decisions. So, my advice to anyone who feels uncomfortable or unsure of what the doctors are telling you, please get a second opinion or insist on further testing. It is true, we all need to be our own health advocates.

 

Blessings,

Cheryl

 

 

 

Ben's Wedding Pink Adventure

The following was written by Ben, the groom of The Wedding Pink 2013. Since Erin recently shared her journey with us we felt it was appropriate for Ben to tell us his experience.


It was a beautiful fall day in early October when I received the call, a call that would alter everything.  Erin had cancer.  The most important person in the world to me had a potentially serious illness.  I remember sitting in my office, listening to her on the phone,  stunned by the news, my mind going numb as she spoke.   It was as if she were talking to me from the other side of a long, steel tube:   the words were there, but it was as if they had an echo to them that made them impossible to decipher.  My thoughts raced.  Erin was only 27.  How did this happen? How could it? Where did the cancer come from? Was it something in the water we drank, or something in the air in our apartment?  How would this change our relationship?   I knew that I couldn't stay at work at a time like this, and I raced home to be with Erin.  But what I saw in her eyes when I arrived home was not hopelessness or despair, but was instead a fiery resolve to defeat this illness, and from that moment on I was with her 100% of the way.  We were going to beat this.

For the next six months, my life became about helping to make her well again.  I organized her medication and made dosage charts to track when she was to take each of her pills.  We stayed in most nights and watched movies.  I cooked whatever sounded good to her at the time. I became a semi-professional nurse, and for six months we took the fight to her cancer.  And with every doctor’s appointment, and every chemotherapy infusion, I fell more in love with Erin, and admired her courage and her resiliency through it all.  I was better and stronger just being around her, and I gained a perspective that few men have at my age.  

A year and a half after her last Chemotherapy infusion, Erin came to me with an idea. She had heard about a non-profit in Colorado called the Wedding Pink,  which awarded a wedding each year to a couple impacted by breast cancer.  She was thrilled about the prospect, and though we were not even engaged at the time, I could see how much she wanted this.   I remember reluctantly agreeing to it at the time.  After all, there was no way that we were actually going to be the one’s selected for the wedding, I thought.  It was out in Colorado, we were here in Virginia.  I was sure our story was not as unique or interesting as many of the others that were applying.  But the more I looked into the venue and thought about the possibilities, the more excited I became.  I was still not confident that we would be selected, until we received a phone call from Cheryl asking us if we wanted to get married in Colorado in May.   We said yes, and the wedding planning was on. 

With the announcement, we began calling our family and friends, who almost couldn’t believe the news. This was understandable, seeing as how we could hardly believe it ourselves.   It didn’t really begin to sink in for me until we were driving from Denver to Palisade to meet Cheryl and our vendors.  Neither of us had ever been to Colorado, and the drive was spectacular, unlike anything we had ever seen before.  At times it was hard to focus on driving the car because around every turn in the road there was a vista more magnificent than the one before.  By the time we arrived in Palisade, we knew that this was going to be the perfect wedding.  The venue was fantastic, all of our vendors were very welcoming, and the setting couldn’t be more beautiful.  We couldn’t wait for all of our friends and family to get out to Western Colorado to enjoy it with us.

When the date of our wedding actually arrived, everything turned out better than we could have ever possibly imagined.   The team at the Wine Country Inn and our wedding planners bent over backwards to take care of our every need.  The setup, the decor and the food were all amazing, and we are so thankful for all of our generous vendors who donated their time and services to make sure that our special day was perfect.  Everyone loved the assorted candy, the cookies, the horse-drawn carriage rides, the music, the flowers and the photo booth!  As one of our dear friends and guests to our wedding put it:  “This is the best trip I have ever been on, and I have been to Tibet.”   We cannot thank enough everyone who worked so hard to make this event one to remember!

And to Cheryl Ungar, whose vision and initiative created The Wedding Pink,  a very special thank you for providing this unparallelled gift to us.  We can never truly thank you enough for what you have done for us, and we hope to help you expand and shape your vision for this worthwhile project in the future. 


Ben, groom of The Wedding Pink 2013

 

 

Submissions Open in 1 Month

Wow, it's hard to believe that our submission period for next year's Wedding Pink opens 1 month from today. 

If you know of anyone who is engaged or soon-to-be engaged and whose lives have been recently touched by breast cancer, please pass this info along. One couple will be awarded a dream wedding nearly cost free.

Next year's wedding promises to be spectacular. Crooked Willow Farms is one of the premier wedding venues in Colorado and conveniently located 30 minutes south of Denver and just north of Colorado Springs. We are in the process of wrapping up all of the vendors so check back to our website for updates.

breast-cancer-wedding-giveaway

 

Erin's Wedding Pink Journey

The following was written by Erin, the bride of The Wedding Pink 2013. I have had the pleasure of getting to know Erin over the last 10 months and she is a true inspiration to all of us!

 

When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age 27 I made a vow to myself: I was not going to let cancer take anything away from me, I was going to take everything I could from it.


At that time, all I could think about was how I would deal with the impending treatments.  What would chemo be like? What would I look with a bald head? How would it feel to have surgery? Would I ever feel normal again? Could I ever be happy and carefree again? Would Ben decide that I was too much trouble and walk away? All of a sudden, my life turned upside-down and I was faced with questions and dilemmas that I never planned for.   For the next 6 months my whole world revolved around breast cancer treatment and once it was completed, I’m happy to report that I emerged, revitalized.  I had braved something harrowing.  I had survived.  Armed with my renewed sense of purpose, I set out to fulfill my vow: take everything I could from cancer.  This would not be a wasted opportunity.


Even given my mission, I could never have dreamed what the next 2 years would hold.  From the incredible friendships I would form to the amazing opportunities and organizations that I connected with, I truly felt like I was reaping the benefits of the time I put in during those initial 6 months.  And when I came across a forwarded email from a friend advertising The Wedding Pink, I looked at it with great interest.  Ben and I had been talking about getting married “one day” for a while, but after everything that we had been through, it didn’t seem as important as it once did.  We’d been together for 7 years and had weathered some pretty significant life events, so a wedding wasn’t something we needed to spend money on, especially when there were medical bills to pay off.  Needless to say, when I heard about The Wedding Pink, it all just seemed to make sense. 

Everything about the proposed wedding looked perfect.  It was in Colorado: we’d never been there, but love traveling to new places.  It was at The Wine Country Inn: we love wine!  It included a wedding planner: I was sold.  So (after I cleared it with Ben), I applied, and as I’m sure you can guess by now, we were selected! 

As I look back on the last 11 months, it all seems like a blur.  I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that we are actually married and that we had the most incredible wedding I could have imagined.  We went from shock of being selected, to joy of getting engaged (yes, we did things a little backwards), to excitement of planning a dream wedding to the bliss of getting married in just 9 months.  And have now spent the last two settling back into normal life. 


We were truly blessed to be connected to all of the wonderful and amazing people that worked to make our wedding happen.  Not only did they donate their time,  talents and services, but each and every one of them went above and beyond in every way possible.  Instead of feeling like we were getting a “free” wedding, we were treated like royalty.  Our experience with everyone connected to The Wedding Pink 2013 was truly remarkable.  We thank each and everyone one of our vendors that made our day so special and gave our guests (and us) so much joy.  We will never forget their generosity and are truly grateful for everything we’ve been given. 

And to Cheryl Ungar, there are no words that can adequately express our gratitude for everything you did to give us our dream wedding.  The words, “thank you” don’t seem to be enough, but Ben and I will be saying “thank you” for years to come.

 

breast-cancer-wedding-pinkErin, bride of The Wedding Pink 2013

 

The 4th Annual Wedding Pink Will Be Held...

at Crooked Willow Farms on Thursday, May 15, 2014. We are in the process of assembling an amazing team of vendors including Cloud 9 Weddings, Van Buren Photography, Anna Be Bridal Boutique and A Design Resource Florals. Additional vendor information will be posted as it becomes available so be sure to stay tuned to our blog and facebook page.

 

Crooked Willow Farms, Larkspur, CO - Host of The Wedding Pink 2014

 

Two Year Update From Melissa and Jeff

We just recently celebrated our 2nd anniversary and have to admit that we love married life. We are great complements to each other and make a great team. The love we share for each other grows every day. It feels like we can conquer anything together and it’s exciting to think about what the future holds for us. 

The most exciting prospect for us right now is the birth of our first child.  We are expecting a baby boy in August. It’s hard to describe our state of mind right now with a baby on the way.  It’s a mix of joy, excitement, uncertainty, humility, a little fear of the unknown, but it’s all good.  We’re both looking forward to raising this little guy.  Melissa can’t wait to have a new little man in the house and Jeff’s looking forward to teaching him how to play ball. 

We are ever grateful to The Wedding Pink by Cheryl Ungar Gives for getting our married lives together started in such a grand way.  Melissa’s bout with cancer was a challenging time, and the Wedding Pink was an uplifting experience during an otherwise disheartening time.  We think back to our wedding day often and have such fond memories of it. 

wedding-pink-recipientsMelissa + Jeff, recipients of The Wedding Pink-2011

 

Mr. and Mrs. in Less Than 3 Weeks!

Wow, it is hard to believe that the 3rd annual Wedding Pink will be taking place in less than 3 weeks. Erin and Ben will be exchanging their vows at the Wine Country Inn in Palisade, Colorado. We are in the process of putting the finishing touches on this splendid affair!

Erin and her Mom were in Palisade a little over a month ago. Pictured below is Erin with TJ Dickerson who will be officiating the wedding.

wedding-pink-2013-palisade-colorado