In 2009, while looking for ways to give back to her community, Liz Guthrie, a party and event planner, organized a dream wedding giveaway in San Francisco for couples who couldn’t afford a high-end wedding. Although the giveaway received 350 applications from all over the country, the story of one couple warmed everyone’s heart. 

Enter Vanessa Muza Teskey, a U.S. Air Force officer battling stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and her fiancé, Capt. Mike Hawkings, also an Air Force officer. After graduating from the Air Force Academy, the couple met and got engaged in 2008. Vanessa received her cancer diagnosis one day before Mike was deployed to Southwest Asia.

From 11,000 miles apart, the contest gave the couple hope for a brighter future and enough resilience to face Vanessa’s chemotherapy sessions. Vanessa and Mike’s love story ended up winning them a $100,000 high-end wedding package –all of the proceeds were donated by local businesses and wedding industry professionals. 

The Hawkins’ wedding was a huge success and sparked an idea. And in November of 2009, Wish Upon a Wedding was officially born.  

Our Mission

We exist to grant weddings and vow renewals to couples facing terminal illness or life-altering health circumstances. We help couples alleviate the financial burden and time commitment that planning a wedding entails, focusing instead on dealing with their treatments and spending time with their loved ones. It's our goal to provide a day for our couples that is free from the worry of their disease and that is filled with love and light - and one that they did not have to stress about!