2021 Year End Recap

We know we have been rather silent through 2021 but we wanted to write a quick blog post to let everyone know what we’ve been up to.

Despite all the challenges that came along with COVID, our 2020 Wedding Pink was still a huge success. Kristina & Kyle were extremely understanding and flexible as they navigated through these unprecedented times. We are happy to announce that Kristina & Kyle were blessed to welcome a beautiful baby boy into their family this year. Congratulations from all of us at The Wedding Pink!

Even though the 2020 wedding was a success, we were hesitant to gift a wedding in 2021. The times are too uncertain, and we didn’t know what challenges we could be facing. 2020 marked our 10th successful annual wedding so this year was the first time we ever took a break. When Cheryl first had her vision for The Wedding Pink, she always had 10 years in her mind as a goal. Not only was our 2020 wedding one for the record books, but it also warms our hearts that we have reached our personal goal as a non-profit.

With all that being said, we haven’t been completely nonexistent. Working behind the scenes, we decided to start a new program called “Pink Love.” Pink Love isn’t something that we necessarily make public, but we have been sending gift cards to several women and families going through cancer. It’s a small way that we can help by giving back to the community.

We wish all of our supporters a wonderful holiday season. Thank you for your continued donations and support.

~ Cheryl, Jeff, Ann, & Melissa – The Wedding Pink Board of Directors

From Kristina and Kyle

This year has taught us what it means to be patient and to wait in the unknown. What an incredibly hard and difficult year it has been. If you are wondering how it is December already? We ask ourselves that almost daily. But believe it or not our wedding was over two months ago and as I look back on that day I have deep and profound gratitude for all that it was.

In 2014 just weeks before I turned 27, I learned I had breast cancer and since that day of diagnosis I continue to see that in the midst of life’s many mysteries, I have been given some of the very greatest blessings.

To say our wedding was one of life’s biggest blessings would be an understatement.
Soon after Kyle and I were engaged we began discussing what a wedding celebration would look like, where would it be? Who would we invite? Many of you who have found yourself engaged before, know the very daunting task that lies before you that is planning a wedding. What I could have never dreamt in the middle of our brainstorming was a phone call from Cheryl. A phone call asking if we would be the recipients of the 2020 Wedding Pink. Nearly speechless, we were overjoyed to receive this gift.

From the day we learned that we would be gifted OUR WEDDING we became family to not only the Wedding Pink team but the many vendors on the Western Slope that graciously donated their time, talents and resources to make our wedding everything we wanted it to be. While the year left us on our toes and many of us to wonder if we would even get to pull off the darn thing in this calendar year, the team of folks behind never waivered. These folks showed up, were flexible and in a year it would have been easy and understandable to walk away; they only assured us they were there every step of the way.

Kyle and I still pinch ourselves that we got to have our incredible Wedding. We cannot thank the Wedding Pink, Cheryl Ungar and Sheryl Fisher enough for all that they did to make our wedding truly a dream come true. We are so proud to have been the 10th Wedding Pink Wedding and thank you all for the support.

May you and your family be given an extra measure of joy and grace this holiday season.

With Love, Kyle and Kristina Andringa

2020 Wedding Pink Recipients

The Show Must Go On

As you all can imagine it’s been an interesting year with planning a non-profit wedding in the middle of a pandemic.

In spite of our crazy world we have some amazing news. Kristina and Kyle’s wedding is still happening on Oct. 1. We are wrapping up all of the final details and look forward to sharing the rest of the journey.

We have just posted some of Kristina and Kyle’s engagement photos taken by Jon Burke. Here are a few of our favorites.

Vendor Meetings with 3 Leaf Floral and Orchard River View

We had a blast with Kelly of 3 Leaf Floral. She has some super creative ideas that we can’t wait to see come to fruition at the wedding.

Kelly Mendenhall from 3 Leaf Floral, Kristina’s mom Gloria and Kristina chatting about wedding flowers and decor.

Wow! Orchard River View is going to be a spectacular venue for The Wedding Pink. We have a few surprises in store for the wedding. Stay tuned to find out more!

Kyle and Kristina at Orchard River View

Kyle, Kristina, Sheryl Fisher (our amazing wedding planner) and Kristina’s mom Gloria.

Wedding Planning has Begun

I spent a wonderful couple of days with Kristina, Kyle and Kristina’s mom meeting with many of the vendors who are graciously donating their time and products to The Wedding Pink 2020.

Over the next couple of months we will be sharing many of the details. I’d love to start with a couple of the vendors; DJ Ryan Griz who not only is donating his DJ services but a photo booth too and Sweet Kiwi Bakery who will be donating scrumptious desserts and cake. If you get a chance to stop into Sweet Kiwi Bakery, you won’t regret it!

DJ Ryan Griz chatting with Kristina’s mom, Kyle and Kristina.

LaRae from Sweet Kiwi Bakery showing her different cake flavors to Kristina and Kyle.

From Sabrina and Rex

As I sit and reflect on the journey that has led me to where I am today, at the beginning of my story I had no idea what life would be like after receiving a cancer diagnosis at the age of 27. Would I be alive to see my 30th birthday? Would I be here to celebrate important milestones with my friends and family? Would I live to be an Aunt to sweet little nieces or nephews? Would I ever get to marry my best friend or would cancer be what broke us apart?

My journey began with so many uncertainties and quite honestly led me through some of life’s darkest moments, yet many chapters of my story remained unwritten. That meant it was time to gracefully take on challenges one day at a time. One thing that is for certain is if you look for the good in life (regardless of your current situation), you will find the silver lining- even if that means sometimes you just have to look really hard. This may not have been a glamorous journey or one to envy, but it is one that allowed me to learn there is good in all things. It allowed me to trust in others and love my friends and family hard. And despite the challenges that presented, each day truly came with its own gifts.

Fast forward almost 3 years-through chemotherapy, multiple surgeries, awkward haircuts, weight gain and menopause, a 30th birthday, becoming an Aunt to the sweetest little girl, and at last a proposal from my best friend. Even after it all, I still managed to land myself one ruggedly handsome and kind soul. And best of all, we made it…. we weathered the storm that seemed impossible at times. We had made it through Marine Corps combat deployments together and a cancer diagnosis. We knew our love would stand the test of time.

I am a strong believer that if you contribute positive things to this world, positive things will come back to become part of your story- The Wedding Pink was just that. Rex and I are still in awe of the good Cheryl Ungar brings into this world. Who was this incredible individual gifting us a wedding of our dreams? Well Cheryl is just that, an incredible person. She is truly a genuine soul who simply wants to bring good into this world. Any conversation with Cheryl makes you feel right at home and as though you are catching up with an old friend.

Cheryl Ungar, Ann Marlin (Our AMAZING wedding planner) and all of the generous wedding vendors made our day absolutely perfect! Thank you will never be enough to repay the kind and heartfelt generosity of all who donated their services and time. We are blessed to have formed special friendships with so many of you. I leave this journey feeling beautiful and taken care of and throughout this new chapter in my story, that feeling is priceless- definitely one I will forever hold near and dear to my heart. Everything about our wedding day was absolutely perfect. My heart is so happy and overflowing with gratitude. I am truly blessed to walk beside some of the strongest women around and will forever be grateful for this special gift. Thank you for gifting me my silver lining. I promise to continue to pay it forward and bring good into this world so others who walk a similar path are lead to find their silver lining too. I will forever be infinitely proud to be part of the Pink Family! Much love to you all!

XOXO,

Rex & Sabrina Laceby

#TheWedding Pink2019

P.S. We can’t wait to crash Kristina and Kyle’s wedding! #TheWeddingPink2020

Sabrina & Rex Wedding Photos

We have posted a full gallery of Sabrina and Rex’s wedding photos. It was such a beautiful day and wedding for a special couple.

You may see the full gallery here. Scroll towards the bottom of the page.

Kristina & Kyle - Recipients of The Wedding Pink 2020.

Orchard River View, photo by Jim Cox.

We are thrilled to introduce Kristina and Kyle, the recipients of 10th annual Wedding Pink. The 2020 wedding will take place October 1 on Colorado’s western slope at Orchard River View, Palisade’s newest wedding and event venue. It’s located on the bank of the Colorado River, surrounded by breathtaking views of the Bookcliffs, Grand Mesa, and peach orchards.

Here is Kristina and Kyle’s story:

How did you meet?

In disgust. It was Kristina’s favorite day of the year, the 2014 Kentucky Derby. She was busy hosting a party at her place celebrating all things Kentucky; thoroughbreds, mint juleps, pimento sandwiches, fancy hats, and fine clothing. A friend of mine invited me last-minute to come along. I agreed and quickly scoured my closets for what to wear. In a stroke of good fortune, I found my Halloween costume from the year before; an epic inflatable jockey riding an ostrich. Did it cross my mind that this was a bit bold and odd? Sure, but my affinity for jockeys prevailed so I reloaded four AA batteries into the fan and brought the costume to life.

Kristina is a social butterfly… she talks to everyone… especially when she is hosting. I recall talking with her briefly that day. I’m pretty sure my wardrobe choice didn’t bode well for me.

So, was it love at first sight? Nope.

Then what?

On September 30 at the age of 26 Kristina was diagnosed with breast cancer. With a strong family history of the disease and learning that she was BRCA 2 positive, Kristina underwent a double mastectomy, egg fertilization and chemotherapy. Although the cancer was found early, doctors recommended an aggressive treatment plan to ensure that the cancer would be gone forever. I wasn’t in the picture yet, but I often wish I could have been there to help through that time. Now five years since that diagnosis day, Kristina has remained cancer free. Back to the good stuff…

Memorial Day 2017, the Boulder Bolder 10k in Boulder Colorado. One of my best friends is married to one of Kristina’s best friends, and we decide to run this together. Kristina and I still don’t know each other all that well. Kristina shows up for the race wearing a full-body penguin suit. Now I’m interested. It was an exceptionally hot day. The Penguin melted.

Later that afternoon when our friends departed it was just Kristina and me. Almost by obligation, that turned into our first date at the Par 3 golf course. A few weeks of dating ensued, but she broke it off.

Why would she do that?

Some things you just can’t explain, but my best guess is that she was worried about the risk to friendships. I accepted this and moved on while always maintaining some interest and thoughts that she would be back. Guess who was right?

Spring 2018 rolls around and she starts holding my hand after a Rockies baseball game. We’ve been together ever since.

Tell us about yourselves.

Kristina is the youngest of two daughters. She spent her childhood in Louisville, Kentucky absorbing her dad’s competitive nature and her mom’s generous heart. For the past three years Kristina has been honored to be captain of “Team Kris Krew” at the Young Survival Coalitions (YSC) Tour De Pink West Coast. Tour De Pink is a three-day 200 mile bike ride that raises money for YSC, the only national nonprofit that solely focuses on serving young women under the age of 40 affected by breast cancer. To date the team has raised over $140,000 for the organization. Additionally, Kristina is a board member for the Colorado Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation.

Kyle is the youngest of two sons. He spent his childhood in Lincoln, Nebraska enjoying the glory years of Husker football, building a mid-western work ethic, and learning everything he could. Together we enjoy golfing, biking, and all things outdoors. We also love to entertain and explore the world.

We are honored to be the recipients of the Wedding Pink 2020. Words simply cannot capture how much we appreciate this gift. We are looking forward to October 1, 2020.

As always we are deeply grateful to all of the generous vendors who make the weddings possible. Here is the list of all of the vendors to date. Please check back as we are adding to the team.

Lovely Evening at Kendra Scott

We had a wonderful turnout last week at our meet and greet at Kendra Scott in Cherry Creek North. Thank you to those who were able to stop by and say “hi” to Sabrina and Rex and help celebrate their upcoming wedding. Time is flying by and it’s hard to believe their big day is in 3.5 weeks!

Kendra Scott graciously donated jewelry to Sabrina for her wedding day and is giving back a portion of the evening’s proceeds to The Wedding Pink.

A few photos from the evening:

Wedding Planning Continues

Sabrina and Rex had their first glimpse at their wedding venue, Spruce Mountain Ranch in Larkspur, CO. It’s a stunning venue and a perfect fit for their October wedding. Ann Marlin of Cloud 9 Weddings went over all of the details of their big day plus they had an opportunity to tour the entire venue including their ceremony site, reception room and where they will be dancing under the stars. Wow, we cannot wait!!

Ceremony site at Spruce Mountain Ranch.

Inside the Colorado Room where guests will enjoy cocktail hour.

Sabrina also had a chance to meet up with Cynthia Mazzara of Magnifica Bella for a makeup trial. Cynthia is a master at her craft and Sabrina is one lucky lady to have Cynthia do her wedding day makeup.

Cynthia putting the final touches on Sabrina during her makeup trial.

Tasting at Relish Catering - Yum!

I had the pleasure of joining Sabrina and Rex for their tasting at Relish Catering today. It was simply amazing. The dinner and appetizer menu is all set and it’s hard to believe the wedding is in less than 5 months. We are all excited to share in their special day!

Say Yes to the Dress!

We are happy to say that Sabrina has said yes to the dress. What a wonderful time we had at The Bridal Collection. Sabrina will, without a doubt, be a beautiful bride. Here are a few photos from the dress shopping appointment.

Happily ever after. Sabrina with her mom and BFF. A huge thank you to The Bridal Collection for donating this beautiful dress.

Wedding Planning Underway

I was fortunate enough to join Sabrina and Rex along with Ann Marlin from Cloud 9 Weddings for a few of the vendor meetings. We are always appreciative of our vendors who go above and beyond to make The Wedding Pink a special day.

We met with Janelle from A Design Resource (florals), Chris the DJ from Elite Entertainment and Lisa from A Cake Come True. Who doesn’t like cake tasting on a Thursday afternoon? It was amazingly delicious!

Next up is the wedding dress! It’s another one of our favorite days to share with the bride and her family. Stay tuned for photos.

Sabrina & Rex Proposal

As you know by now we recently announced our recipients of The Wedding Pink 2019. This year’s couple, Sabrina and Rex have a unique story. They are both equally deserving of this wedding; Sabrina is a young, breast cancer survivor and Rex is a retired, decorated, Purple Heart recipient Marine. They are both a joy to be around and we are now blessed that they are part of our Pink Family.

Rex proposed to Sabrina almost 2 years ago. We would love to share the proposal video.

Uploaded by Katherine Schaefer on 2017-03-20.

Lovely Article - Cure Magazine

A nice little surprise landed in my inbox yesterday. Cure (curetoday.com) has published a lovely article about The Wedding Pink. We are very honored.

You may read the full article here.

A Few Words from The Wedding Pink Couple, Liz and Lee

It's hard to believe that a month has passed since our beautiful wedding day. In looking back over the last year, we're so grateful to have been chosen for this experience. It was an enormous blessing in our lives and a time that we will cherish for years to come.

When we applied in November 2017, we didn't actually believe that we could be the chosen couple. It's like buying a lottery ticket-- it's fun to dream about winning, but you don't think that you'll actually win the jackpot. The shock and awe that we felt upon finding out that we had been chosen stayed with us throughout the planning process. It's hard to feel worthy of such a spectacular gift, but we are so thankful that The Wedding Pink chose us.

From our first visit to Denver in March of 2018, we knew that this would be a wonderful experience. During our first meetings, our wedding planner, Ann Marlin, was a pleasure to work with and made made everything so easy for us. During that trip, we saw our amazing venue-to-be at The Sanctuary golf course in Sedalia, met with our florist Janelle, selected a wedding dress at The Bridal Collection, and worked with our wonderful photographer, Katie Van Buren. Liz even had a chance to do a makeup trial with Cynthia of Magnifica Bella and felt so beautiful on the day of the engagement photos. It was such fun to meet Cheryl, Melissa, and other members of The Wedding Pink family. We felt very welcomed into this wonderful community.

On our second planning trip in July 2018, we worked on further details for the big day, including meeting with Rev. Kim Tavendale, who worked closely with us to ensure that our ceremony would be perfect. We also loved meeting Chris, our DJ from Elite Entertainment, and Turi Gustafson, who helped to customize the music for our ceremony and reception. We also got to meet with our awesome caterers from Relish Catering, and Lee's favorite part of the whole experience was tasting the delicious cakes with Lisa from A Cake Come True. We topped off the visit with a meet-and-greet with our vendors at Kendra Scott Jewelry, where we loved visiting with everyone and celebrating over wine and cheese.

When it was time for the wedding day, we couldn't have asked for a better experience. It was a beautiful Colorado fall day with clear skies and a chill in the air. While everyone says that your wedding day is never perfect, it truly was perfect in our eyes. From the lovely ceremony to a delicious dinner and a raging dance party, we had a blast with all of our family and friends in attendance. Throughout the day, we felt excited, grateful, and so happy to be there. All of our vendors, Ann, and The Wedding Pink team worked tirelessly to make it a beautiful, stress-free experience for us, and we are forever grateful to everyone involved. Many thanks to The Wedding Pink for making this possible for us and for future couples in the years to come.

Liz and Lee

Liz and Lee, the recipients of The Wedding Pink 2018

Liz + Lee are Married! Sneak Peak!

What an amazing day. Beautiful bride, lovely weather, everything was perfect. Here is a sneak peek of images. A full gallery of photos coming soon, please stay tuned.

Thank you to our fabulous photographers, Katie Van Buren and Paige Eden.

Ann Marlin of Cloud 9 Wedding Joins the Board of Directors

We are pleased to announce that Ann Marlin of Cloud 9 Weddings has joined our board of directors as Co Vice President. She has been an integral part of The Wedding Pink since 2013 and we are thrilled to have her on our team.

Ann is the CEO and Lead Designer at Cloud 9 Weddings. She has been planning weddings and events since 2000. She brings extensive event planning experience, enthusiasm and fresh ideas to every wedding and event. 

Ann has planned and executed over 300 weddings at most every popular Denver-area venue including out of state weddings and has relationships with the finest wedding and event vendors.

Liz and Lee's Engagement Photos

We were so happy to receive Liz and Lee's engagement photos from Katie Van Buren of Van Buren Photography. They are all very beautiful and we can't wait to share them with you. Here is a sneak peek, the full gallery can be viewed here.

Dress Shopping at The Bridal Collection

As the first bride to be awarded this amazing gift, and also a member of the board of The Wedding Pink, I have been lucky enough to witness many beautiful moments throughout this journey. So far, we have helped eight couples by giving them their dream weddings, right here in Colorado. One of my favorite parts of The Wedding Pink process is wedding dress shopping. Our brides have graciously allowed me to join in their once-in-a-lifetime experience, and for that I’m so grateful. I’ve met mothers, sisters, best friends, and it really makes me feel like we’re all one big family. Our “Pink Family” as Cheryl Ungar, our founder, likes to call it.

For the second year in a row, we have been lucky enough to partner with The Bridal Collection for our wedding dress needs. Last year, The Bridal Collection graciously donated two beautiful gowns to our 2017 bride, Laurie, and her wife Jessie. Jordan was our stylist and she was able to find two dresses that perfectly matched each of our brides’ personalities.

Liz trying on dresses at The Bridal Collection

This year Jordan was at it again, helping our 2018 bride, Liz, find her dream dress.  Liz was in town from the East Coast last week doing some wedding planning with our rockstar wedding planner Ann Marlin of Cloud 9 Weddings. While The Wedding Pink is a Denver-based non-profit, we accept submissions from all over the country. Because we needed to fit as much planning into one weekend as we possibly could, The Bridal Collection was tasked with the tough job of getting Liz to “Say Yes to the Dress” in one 90-minute appointment. Jordan was up for the challenge. She would come sweeping through the sitting area under a mountain of fabric, pulling the dressing room curtain closed, while we sat with baited breath, waiting for Liz to come out in each dress. Jordan dazzled us with fancy words like moonstone, Swarovski, and French lace. It’s clear that she really knows her stuff. While each dress was gorgeous in its own unique way, we all knew Liz had found her dress when she came out with tears in her eyes. We all knew it was the one. The Madison James stunner of a dress was absolutely gorgeous on Liz. I know she can’t wait for her big day where she will forever be joined to her fiancé, Lee in October at The Sanctuary Golf Course in Sedalia.

Liz says Yes to the Dress with a little help from her BFF

Our happy bride Liz has selected a dress with the help of her BFF; Ann Marlin of Cloud 9 Weddings; Melissa Childs, 2011 Wedding Pink bride and the fabulous stylist Jordan from The Bridal Collection.

Our appointment at The Bridal Collection was my first time meeting Liz in person, but I couldn’t help but feel emotional myself. After all, what does a wedding dress represent? It signifies love, commitment, and unity. But for our brides, who are also breast cancer survivors, the wedding dress is a reminder to us that we fought through something horrific and we came out on the other side, survivors. We live to see another day and we get to experience a wedding with the love of our lives. For a brief second, we forget what we went through, and bask in the realization that our wedding day is approaching. As we wear this wedding dress down the aisle, everyone’s eyes are on us, yet our eyes are firmly fixed on the one person in our lives who has been in the trenches with us; our support system who loves us for who we are – scars and all. The wedding dress makes us feel like a princess. In the mirror, we don’t see a cancer patient. We see a bride ready to start our lives with our one true love. We are eternally grateful for The Bridal Collection’s continued support of The Wedding Pink and for helping our brides’ dreams come true. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

~Melissa Childs, Board Member, The Wedding Pink