Wedding Pink Blog - The Latest News + Updates!
I am happy to introduce Roxanne and Joseph, the recipients of The Wedding Pink - 2012. They are a beautiful young couple going through a difficult time, yet Roxanne's positive attitude is infectious. Without a doubt we will all be blessed by knowing her.
Their dream wedding which will take place on May 17 in Beaver Creek, Colorado will certainly be a joyous celebration for all and a perfect ending to her story of survival.
You can read more about Roxanne and Joseph here.
I am happy to announce that we have selected the recipients of The Wedding Pink - 2012 and we will make an official annoucement next week, so please stay tuned. I am super excited to publish the couple's story and photograph.
On another note, I would like to thank everyone who took the time to share their heartfelt stories with us. Everyone is deserving and in a perfect world I wish I could grant a dream wedding to everyone who applies, but unfortunately we can only give away one wedding at this point in time. We had some very difficult decisions to make and I must admit that selecting only one couple is the hardest part of this journey.
Please check back mid-week next week to read about the couple who we have selected for next year's wedding!
While we are still in the process of selecting next year's recipients of The Wedding Pink I thought I would take a moment to tell you about our venue for next year. SaddleRidge at Beaver Creek is without a doubt one of the most spectacular venues in the entire Vail Valley area of Colorado. We are thrilled to be working with them as they have graciously donated their venue for the ceremony and reception with their executive chef preparing an incredible meal for the guests.
A little more information about SaddleRidge:
SaddleRidge is nestled on the eastern slope on the base of Beaver Creek Mountain. The forty-foot high ceilings and the mismatched antique chairs combine to create a cozy atmosphere, which houses the largest collection of American western antique furnishings, and artifacts. In the elegant but comfortable surroundings, you'll feel as if you have stepped back into the eighteen hundreds with Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley as you choose from the menu offering Western American cuisine featuring game and seafood. With the beautiful view of Beaver Creek the dining room has a full service bar and antique billiard table as well as an old time player piano and original Wurlitzer jukebox. The turn of the century library and the refurbished Larkspur room located on the first floor, featuring many pieces of cowboy and Indian artwork, serves as the primary space for meetings and social functions. In addition to the Clubhouse or main dining room, Library and Larkspur rooms, twelve privately owned villas are attached and uniquely decorated with a theme from the Old West.
To learn more about SaddleRidge at Beaver Creek we encourage you to visit their website.
Our submission period for next year's wedding giveaway has officially closed. We have received some very heartfelt stories. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their personal stories.
We are reviewing all of the submissions this week and plan on announcing our winner by early September, if not sooner.
Please stay tuned, we cannot wait to introduce next year's couple!
I hope that everyone is not getting too tired of all of the recent videos. It is simply that I have been blessed this week with two different tv appearances. Here is an iPhone video from the studio this morning. I should have the actual tv version soon which includes some photos and videos from Melissa and Jeff's wedding, and certainly better audio.
I made a guest appearance on Martino TV this morning to chat about The Wedding Pink. A big thank you to Tom Martino and Paula Haddock for having me on the show.
We received a wonderful little surprise yesterday. Mares Video delivered the highlight video from Melissa + Jeff's wedding.
Curious and want to take a peek?
Here it is:
It was a beautiful day and I am thrilled that we were able to give this wedding away to Melissa and Jeff.
Our submission period is only open for one more week -- until Monday, August 15.
One deserving couple whose lives have been recently touched by breast cancer will be awarded a dream wedding nearly cost free and valued at over $30,000.
We encourage anyone who meets our criteria to submit their story.
Additionally I want to thank all of the vendors who are donating their products and services for next year's wedding. Furthermore, a special shout out to Katie Bowline who has been the mastermind behind all of our tweets. If you are on twitter, please follow us @TheWeddingPink.
Just a reminder that our submission period for next year's wedding is open for 12 more days, until August 15. We have a glorious wedding put together for one deserving couple. We strongly encourage anyone who meets our criteria, whose life has been recently affected by breast cancer and is engaged, to submit their story.
Additionally, thank you to those of you who have already sent in your heartfelt stories.
This still tugs at my heart strings, 20 years later. Terry was an acquaintance of mine and just a couple years older than me. She lost her battle with breast cancer while I was in the midst of my own struggle with the same disease.
This is told by my good friend Jay Bryant, reposted with permission.
photo by Jay Bryant
I can still vividly hear the concern in Terry’s voice over the phone as she told me that she had found a lump on her breast and was going to the doctor’s office to have it checked out. It is a story that did not end well for Terry some 20 years ago as she was diagnosed with breast cancer that took her life on July 22, 1991.
This week I was reminded by a friend that the 20th anniversary of her death was approaching. It has caused me to stop and reflect back on my memories of Terry over the years.
I met Terry when I started at the Rock Island (IL) Argus as a photographer fresh out of college in 1981. Terry worked as a writer at a competing newspaper. She lived in East Davenport, Iowa, in an older house on top of a hill that had a scenic view of the Mississippi River. Many wonderful Sundays where spent sitting in her backyard reading all of the Sunday newspapers and watching the boats on the river below.
Terry very much served as a creative muse to me early in my career helping me re-enforce my views of creativity. Our career paths took us to different parts of the country, but we continued to stay in touch despite the distance. Those conversations always kept my grounded in my values.
The portrait above of Terry I shot in 1982 at my apartment in Moline. It has hung in my office for many years and I get comfort from her still watching over me.
Years after Terry’s passing I visited a common friend in the Midwest who commented that she was haunted by the portrait of Terry. She told me that if you look below the two doors in the image, that one of them is leading to a dark room, while the other has light streaming through it. She felt that Terry was sitting contemplating life (the light) and death (darkness).
What I remember the most about Terry was the clarity of her writing. I went into the archives at the last paper she worked at and pulled out three of her columns that I want to share.
The first column from 1990 talks about her challenges with her cancer treatment (linked here). The next column (linked here) is about her trip to the Grand Canyon where she ended it saying:
“There was comfort in 2 billion years, and in having two hours to watch, to be still. To say: This is how I chose to pass this small piece of my small piece of the billions of years. My piece of time. White and black flashed and flitted and trilled around me, other creatures passing their dust-mote of time on the edge of eternity. We were a tiny part, a part that would not last long. But a part, nonetheless. And this was good.”
And one of her last columns she wrote is linked here.
We have been working around the clock putting together this amazing team of vendors for The Wedding Pink and I cannot wait to share all of the details with you. I think that you will agree, everyone's generosity is a bit overwhelming.
Without further delay, this is what is on tap for The Wedding Pink. SaddleRidge in Beaver Creek has graciously offered to host the ceremony and reception with delectable menu options for dinner. The evening before the big day, the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek will host a welcome cocktail reception, with an option to add a rehearsal dinner, and additionally will provide a beautiful suite for the wedding couple for 3 nights. The entire wedding will be coordinated by the fabulous wedding planner, Kelly Karli of Frosted Pink Weddings.
We have everything covered from videography to the wedding dress and the complete list of contributing vendors can be viewed here.
We are not done yet, one more piece of exciting news! We have raised enough funds to cover the small costs of the wedding that we were not able to get donated. The wedding will be virtually cost free to the couple, with a couple of exceptions, please see the bottom of this page.
Please don't forget, our submission period for this wedding closes on Monday, August 15, 2011. We look forward to reading your heartfelt stories.
We have an amazing team of vendors coming together for next year's wedding and hope to announce everyone by the end of this week, including the world-class venue :)
Please take our word, next year's wedding will be nothing other than incredible!
On another note, if you are planning on submitting your story, we encourage you to send it in sooner than later and we look forward to reading your heartfelt stories.
Stay tuned, we have a big announcement to make any day now. We cannot wait to share!!
I am happy to introduce our newest team member, Kelly Karli of Frosted Pink Weddings. Kelly is a super talented wedding planner in the Vail Valley and she is excited to be part of The Wedding Pink. 
She is working around the clock to bring our last few vendors on board, but more importantly, our selected couple will have the pleasure of working with her on all of the details of their wedding. Without a doubt, everyone will be in good hands with Kelly on our team, we are very fortunate to have her.
In the meantime, if you would like to learn a little bit more about Kelly and Frosted Pink Weddings, please take a moment and visit her website, www.frostedpinkweddings.com.
First off, I want to let everyone know that we are in the process of securing the rest of the vendors for The Wedding Pink - 2012 in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
Secondly, as many of you know, The Wedding Pink would not be possible without the generosity of the vendors who donate their product and services. Unfortunately, there are a few small costs associated with the wedding that we have difficulty getting donated.
Since we now have our 501(c)3 non-profit status from the IRS we legally can accept individual donations as well as corporate sponsors and offer the proper documentation for tax deductions. We are trying to raise funds to cover the additional costs of next year's wedding.
If you would like to make an individual donation, you may do so through our "donate" page on this website. Or, if you know of a company that would like to become a sponsor of The Wedding Pink - 2012, please drop me a note. We have several different levels of sponsorship opportunities.
Lastly, please don't forget that our submission period opens up next week, July 1!
A few of us participated in the Making Strides for Breast Cancer Walk last Sunday at Washington Park in Denver, Colorado. It was a nice event and we had an opportunity to meet many wonderful people. It was organized by the American Cancer Society and all of the donated funds will benefit their programs. We are looking forward to walking again next year.
Cheryl, Melissa and Jeff
The Wedding Pink t-shirts.
I am pleased to introduce our newest corporate sponsor for The Wedding Pink - 2012: 
We have officially wrapped up Melissa and Jeff's wedding and I am proud to say it was a huge success, not to mention the fact that Melissa and Jeff are happily married and enjoying life together.
We are now focusing all of our energies on The Wedding Pink - 2012 to be held Colorado Rocky Mountains. The submission period is right around the corner, July 1 - August 15. If you happen to know an engaged or soon-to-be engaged couple whose lives have been recently touched by breast cancer, please forward the information along.
Next year's wedding will not disappoint, we are in the process of securing an amazing team of vendors. Please keep an eye on my submissions page and my blog for the latest updates and information.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
I received the most wonderful letter in the mail yesterday from the IRS. I am happy to announce that we have obtained our official 501(c)3 status!
This is very exciting for us as it will allow The Wedding Pink to truly become a little bigger and better every year.
Last night Channel 7 news in Denver aired a wonderful story about The Wedding Pink. I am overwhelmed by all of this as just over a year ago The Wedding Pink was merely a vision of mine.
Additionally, I would like to thank Jennie Castor of Channel 7 for the countless hours that she put into producing this story.
In case you missed it, you can see it here on Channel 7's website,
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/27901807/detail.html
