I am an owner and designer at Events by Design. When not planning weddings, I am employed at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. I met a wonderful woman named Beverly Patterson, who works in the hospital cafeteria. Soon after I began working there Beverly would share news of her daughter, Stephanie.

In October 2005, as I was speaking with Beverly, she mentioned her daughter had cancer in her sinus area and was extremely depressed. Upon finding out Stephanie and her boyfriend, Peter Cook, were not married, and wanting to lift Stephanie’s spirits, I offered our services as wedding coordinators. One thing led to another and we were soon planning this special wedding.

Peter and Stephanie met four years ago in a school for the blind. Stephanie’s first bout with cancer was at 5 months old; she had retinal blastoma in both eyes, causing her to lose one eye and sustain severe damage to the other. Peter had a non-malignant brain tumor at a young age and lost sight in one eye. They quickly made friends and soon their friendship blossomed into love. Their son, Kayleb, was born in January 2005 and for a period time they lived with Beverly.  Wanting independence, Peter and Stephanie moved into an apartment in the summer of 2006.

That year of planning will remain one of the most memorable times in my life. We approached vendors with the story of this couple and before we could even ask, they said “I’m in!” Two newspaper articles and two television interviews began a circle of excitement that Peter and Stephanie could not help but enjoy. 

The wedding day arrived and became a magical event for Stephanie and Peter to remember! Many of her physicians and nurses were in attendance and spoke of how special this young couple is. Afterward they were whisked off in a limo to a brief honeymoon at the Lodge at Torrey Pines and they were excited when the hotel limo drove them to the mall to spend some of the $3,000 they received from their “honeymoon dance.” Showing this couple’s true character they called me to ask how many vendors and volunteers had participated to make their wedding day come to life. The first item on their list to purchase was thank you cards!

The wedding was not about the dress, the food or the party.  It was about a young man who loves a young woman and pledges to be there for her. Peter is committed to Stephanie and their son and never leaves their side. 

Stephanie now has another malignant tumor above her eye.  Doctors have given Stephanie two choices: hospice or intensive doses of chemo.  It was a hard decision for Stephanie because in her words, “I’m tired of being sick,” yet she chose to fight and is doing well. 

We all thank God for the blessing of meeting her and the honor of contributing to this wedding.  Our lives are better for having known them and we have continued our friendship to this day.