We are so excited that the wedding we worked on on May, as part of the Wish Upon a Wedding team, was featured on Thetodayshow.com! Shelley and Jay’s wedding was truly an amazing wedding to be a part of, and as the President of Wish Upon a Wedding here in Settle, I am super excited that the Today Show Feature will bring this incredible organization even more exposure – which means we get to grant more wedding wishes.

To see more about Jay and Shelley’s Wedding, see our Wish Upon a Wedding  blog post.  Read the TODAYSHOW.com article by clicking the link.

Did you hear the exciting news about Wish Upon a Wedding?  We are now granting wishes to even more deserving couples!  Although the organization started out granting wishes to couples facing terminal illness with three years or less to live, we have now expanded to granting wishes to couples with the following:

* Couples where at least one individual has terminal diagnosis of less than FIVE years to live

* Couples faced with situations that have caused serious emotional, physical or financial stress (approved on case by case basis)

* Married couples seeking vow renewals, who have faced serious life-altering circumstances including but not limited to terminal illness (approved on a case by case basis)

Stacie  Francombe, national public relations chair and founder of Get Married Media, said it best:
“By partnering with Wish Upon a Wedding, Get Married’s goal is to help connect talented, local wedding professionals in order to offer couples in their communities with a dream wedding and turn tragedy into triumph. By opening up new doors to more deserving couples with a variety of life-changing challenges, the wedding industry is sharing their commitment to their profession, to these individuals and to the idea that dreams do come true for any couple in love.”

Wish Upon a Wedding Seattle held it’s Launch Party Thursday night at the fabulous Pravda studios.  If you missed it, you missed a fabulous event, some ah-mazing delectables from our awesome sponsors, a roomful of wonderful people, SWEET swag bags and of course, the chance to hear all about Wish Upon a Wedding.  (and of course, my amazing decor.  But more on that in a minute!)

It’s no secret that I adore Pravda’s space – as a designer, a blank white loft space is creative bliss. We took the WUW logo colors of aquamarine and chartreuse (yes, I got to use my favorite color!), and so that our launch party didn’t look like every other WUW launch party across the country, I decided to add in a pop of tangerine. (especially since I refuse to use turquoise flowers).

Yum.  Add in some great lounge furniture (thank you, Pravda), Linens from ABC Party Rentals AND Prestige Linens (who overnighted linens to us -  at no charge.  WOW.) and we had some great tables and seating.

As the owner of Bella, we of course had to be a major sponsor (since as President of WUW I’m not allowed to donate to the weddings), and I had a blast with the florals and styling of dessert tables.

Ah, the desserts.  To be different and fun, we decided to offer a sumptuous selection of sweets.  Where to start?  Trophy Cupcakes (as seen on Martha Stewart) not only offered insanely delicious cupcakes like Red Velvet and Margarita, they matched them to the WUW logo colors.  YES!  Having worked with them many times, they know I’ll go as far as bringing in color chips to match the icing too…the right hue can be critical!!

Judy Tallant of Tallant House created an entire table of dessert bites of every concoction, Gourmondo Catering brought delightful cookies, and I even got to cut a WUW wedding cake from the generous Celebrity Cake Studio.

Many Seattle area vendors donated to the swagbags each new WUW wish grantor received, from Microsoft, to Bon Bon Confections, and event the Seattle Aquarium.

Thank you Tania at Azzura for the fabulous photos!!  It’s always fabulous to work with you!

The best part of the evening was seeing Seattle Wedding vendors out in full force, ready to be a part of such an amazing organization.  After a slideshow, my little speech, and a stunning video by Edit1Media, our registration table was abuzz.

Thank you, Seattle.  Let’s make some wishes come true!!

A few weeks ago, Bella Signature Design was part of one the most amazing ceremonies!  Recently Sasha Souza contacted me about Wish Upon A Wedding, and asked me to be President of the Seattle chapter. (Read Bella’s blog post about Wish Upon A Wedding here).

After creating our board of directors, we had our first board meeting on April 15th, and literally an hour after this meeting, our first wish came in. Normally, WUW operates by finding vendors who want to be involved and having  them ready to go when a wish comes in, but since this was an urgent wish and we were just starting, it was a hectic week!

In less then 10 days our amazing Volunteer Coordinators found Shelly and Jay a custom wedding gown, a beautiful venue to match Shelly’s dream, flowers, music, and more.  (for a list of all the vendors, look below).  Shelly, who has terminal metastatic lymphoma, was so happy to finally marry her love, Jay: they met 10 years ago when she was his caretaker as he was  undergoing a stem cell transplant due to MS.  Now he takes care of her, and they have wanted to marry for a while, until illness and medical expenses got in the way.

On a misty Sunday, that miraculously cleared at the beginning of the ceremony, some of Seattle’s most giving wedding vendors gathered to create this once of a lifetime wedding for Shelly and Jay.  WUW board members came as well, and helped serve food, create butterfly mobile’s (which was Shelly’s theme), helped  with putting flowers together, and welcoming guests. The ceremony was under a flower graced pergola, with beautiful lilacs, viburnum, roses and amaranthus.  Shelly and Jay shared their vows with their closes friends and family, and then headed to the decorated tent to celebrate.  It was an honor to be a part of this day!

Don’t forget about our Wish Upon a Wedding Launch Party May 27th

at the fabulous Pravda Studios – a Swanky cocktail party NOT to miss!

Vendors from the most recent WUW wedding – THANK YOU!!!

Sanders Mansion

Melody Davis of MGDavis Events (Planning)

Jaimie Cordero of Flourish in Tacoma (Ceremony flowers)

Edit 1 Media (Video)

KCB Photography (Photography)

Leslie Wheatley with Seattle Parties (DJ)

International recording artist Enrique Henao (Ceremony Music)

Brassfield’s Salon & Spa (Hair Styling)

Michael Bride (make-up)

Mary Ellen Tuttle of La Votre Bridal Couture (Custom Bridal Gown)

AA Party Rentals (Tent & rentals)

Choice Linens (linens)

Gayle at All About Weddings (Menu’s)

Sweets, Treats & Designs (candy bar)

KISS Wedding Books (Wedding Photo Album)

Act 3 Catering (Catering)

I am so excited to help bring this AMAZING opportunity to Seattle!  As President of the Seattle chapter of Wish Upon a Wedding, I’ve been super busy this last week working on filling up our Board of Directors with fabulous people, and looking for vendors who want to be a part of this great cause.

Haven’t heard of Wish Upon a Wedding, or want more information?  Read below! Having been in the medical field in a prior career, this cause is very close to my heart, and I am so excited to have found something that marries my two passions!  Now I get to make beautiful things AND help/give back.  What a blessing! For more information, see below or visit www.wishuponawedding.org.  Feel free to contact me about being on the board, fulfilling a wish, or wanting a wish

Wish Upon A Wedding was founded in San Francisco, CA, in January of 2010, by a group of wedding and business entrepreneurs and is America’s FIRST nonprofit wedding wish granting organization, producing weddings and civil union ceremonies at destinations across the United States for individuals facing terminal illness, regardless of sexual orientation.

Chapters:

Wish Upon A Wedding is now boasting twenty chapters nationwide, headed by some of the industry’s most renowned leaders with plans to expand to over 40 chapters worldwide.

Presidents:

Sasha Souza, National President & SF Bay Area President

Kevin Covey, LA/Orange County

Stella Inserra, New York

Ivy Robinson, The Carolinas

Eliana Baucicault, Atlanta

Mary Alice Sublett, Tennessee

Mark Kingsdorf, Philadelphia

Heather Hamilton Sims, Houston

Shelby Tuck Horton, DC

Elisa Delgardio, Orlando

Ali Phillips, Chicago

Daniela Isabella Ferdico Fagét, Seattle

Forming Additional Chapters:

Other chapters opening soon include Boston, Colorado, Arizona, Portland, Miami, St. Louis, Ohio and Nevada.  We are also planning to open to chapters in other areas depending on need including international chapters.  If you wish to start a chapter, please fill out the online form for consideration.

Who Is Behind Wish Upon A Wedding?

Many influential people in the industry are beginning to endorse Wish Upon A Wedding & you can find those endorsements on the website.  There are also amazing people sitting on the Boards and Advisory Panel throughout the US such as Dana Larue Stiebel “Broke-Ass Bride” {LA Chapter PR Chair}, Leila Khalil {National PR Advisor}, Beth Helmstetter {National Outreach Director} just to name a few.  They would love to have you join as well either as a board member or wish granter!

How We Grant Wishes:

To qualify for Wishes, applicants must be unmarried legal citizens of the United States, over the age of 18, who have been diagnosed with less than three years to live.  Couples can be granted wishes either in the chapter where they live or in a chapter of their choosing as long as they are able to make the trip.

Couples can simply apply online to request one of three wedding types:

URGENT (Up to 10 guests, in hospital or at bedside);

BOUTIQUE (up to 25 guests, in home town of applicant);

ROMANTIC (Up to 50 guests, at any WUW destination)

How Can You Grant Wishes?

As the organization is building, Wish Granters are needed in all locations. Please apply online today to start helping Wedding Wishes come true. In two weeks, Wish Upon A Wedding will be granting the very first wish.  To read more about that wish and the couple please visit the website.

fulfilled!

wish upon a wedding

Pleased to let our readers be aware of a new non-profit organization that will be helping people who are terminally ill. I’m so pleased to announce/promote:

Wish Upon A Wedding was founded in San Francisco, CA, in January of 2010, by a group of wedding and business entrepreneurs and is America’s FIRST nonprofit wedding wish granting organization, producing weddings and civil union ceremonies at destinations across the United States for individuals facing terminal illness, regardless of sexual orientation.

Chapters:

Wish Upon A Wedding is now boasting twenty chapters nationwide, headed by some of the industry’s most renowned leaders with plans to expand to over 40 chapters worldwide.

Presidents:

Sasha Souza, National President & SF Bay Area President

Kevin Covey, LA/Orange County

Stella Inserra, New York

Ivy Robinson, The Carolinas

Eliana Baucicault, Atlanta

Mary Alice Sublett, Tennessee

Mark Kingsdorf, Philadelphia

Heather Hamilton Sims, Houston

Shelby Tuck Horton, DC

Elisa Delgardio, Orlando

Ali Phillips, Chicago

Daniela Isabella Ferdico Fagét, Seattle

Forming Additional Chapters:

Other chapters opening soon include Boston, Colorado, Arizona, Portland, Miami, St. Louis, Ohio and Nevada.  We are also planning to open to chapters in other areas depending on need including international chapters.  If you wish to start a chapter, please fill out the online form for consideration.

Who Is Behind Wish Upon A Wedding?

Many influential people in the industry are beginning to endorse Wish Upon A Wedding & you can find those endorsements on the website.  There are also amazing people sitting on the Boards and Advisory Panel throughout the US such as Dana Larue Stiebel “Broke-Ass Bride” {LA Chapter PR Chair}, Leila Khalil {National PR Advisor}, Beth Helmstetter {National Outreach Director} just to name a few.  They would love to have you join as well either as a board member or wish granter!

How We Grant Wishes:

To qualify for Wishes, applicants must be unmarried legal citizens of the United States, over the age of 18, who have been diagnosed with less than three years to live.  Couples can be granted wishes either in the chapter where they live or in a chapter of their choosing as long as they are able to make the trip.

Couples can simply apply online to request one of three wedding types:

URGENT (Up to 10 guests, in hospital or at bedside);

BOUTIQUE (up to 25 guests, in home town of applicant);

ROMANTIC (Up to 50 guests, at any WUW destination)

How Can You Grant Wishes?

As the organization is building, Wish Granters are needed in all locations. Please apply online today to start helping Wedding Wishes come true. In two weeks, Wish Upon A Wedding will be granting the very first wish.  To read more about that wish and the couple please visit the website.

Please use this info on your own blog and during the course of this week…if you have the time and the room on your blog this week.

It will help build a network of very important people in this industry whose main goal is to help these very deserving couples.  After all, if you are in the business of creating lifetime memories, we are now asking you to help us create memories for those who are left behind because these couples do not have a lifetime together.