It’s that time of year again! You guessed it, gala time! Here in St. Louis we’re gearing up in a big way for what’s sure to be another AMAZING gala! This year’s theme is “Transformations” which means we expect to see a lot of alter egos and real life transformations going on. Taking place at the FABULOUS Coronado Ballroom in midtown St. Louis on November 20th, guests are in for a treat! From a thirteen piece band, to stunning decor and even a late night cupcake truck, this gala is sure to have it all!

The Stay Classy Awards program is the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the country, honoring the achievements of the nation’s top charities, businesses and individuals. This year’s program will be in San Diego on September 17th.

Out of over 2,000 entries, Wish Upon a Wedding (http://www.wishuponawedding.org) was chosen by judges as one of the TOP 25 philanthropies, nominated to win Charity of the Year in the 3rd Annual Stay Classy Awards.

This award could help the organization secure grant money valued at $15,000, enabling them to further enhance  their current programming and services.  It is their goal to begin providing travel and accommodations for distant families, which they currently lack the funding to do.  Your vote can help them reach their goals more quickly!

It only takes a moment to VOTE, so please do so today!

Vote here: http://classyawards.stayclassy.org/classy-awards/voting

What does it take to make Wedding Wishes come true?
YOUR SUPPORT!

Wish Upon a Wedding St. Louis invites you to our first ever…

Wish Granter Drive!

Wednesday, August 23, 2011 at 6:00pm at The Bluffs on Broadway

Meet with Wish Upon a Wedding St. Louis representatives to learn more about the organization and how you can help grant wishes. Past wish granters will also be sharing stories of how Wish Upon a Wedding has impacted their lives!

RSVP by August 16th.
Food and drinks provided.

Wish Upon a Wedding is the world’s first nonprofit wish granting organization, providing weddings and vow renewals for couples facing terminal illness and life altering circumstances, regardless of sexual orientation.

Please feel free to share this invite with any wedding professional that you think might be interested in becoming a Wish Granter.

http://wishuponawedding.org/st-louis/

Summer is wedding season and for Lance and Tina Martin, Wish Upon a Wedding St. Louis’ third wedding wish and first special circumstance wish recipients, this summer was no exception. On June 27, 2011 Lance Martin married his caregiver, his partner and most importantly his best friend, Tina Pfeiffer.

Tina and Lance met in 2008 while Tina was undergoing chemotherapy to treat stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Lance stayed by her side the entire time. Tina had the opportunity to return the favor in early 2011 when Lance was diagnosed with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a genetic condition and form of end-stage renal failure. In March of 2011, Lance proposed and Wish Upon a Wedding St. Louis stepped in to help make their wedding dreams come true.

The wedding ceremony and reception took place at the trendy Westin St. Louis located in downtown and was attended by nearly 50 of the couple’s closest friends and family. All of the details of the event were coordinated and donated by Wish Upon a Wedding.

“We could not have done any of this without the tremendous support of our wish granters,” said Lacy Branch, President of the St. Louis chapter. “The backing we have received for our organization from the local wedding industry has just been phenomenal. We are so grateful for all of the enthusiasm and encouragement our chapter has experienced since its inception in April of 2010.”

Watch Lance and Tina’s wedding video and love story courtesy of TenSixteen Photography!

Re-posting this from the Wish Upon a Wedding national blog. This is a great organization that I am honored to be a part of and I am so happy we were able to make Jason and Melissa’s wedding wish come true! What an amazingly sweet couple!

Spring has sprung! And it’s the season when a young man’s thoughts turn to love. Such is the case for Jason Trent, a young father of two who was diagnosed last August with a stage four glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive and malignant form of brain cancer. On March 7, 2011 he married the girl of his dreams, Melissa Trent, the best friend who has already stood by his side in sickness and in health.

I find myself very fortunate to be able to do what I love and what makes it even better is knowing that by doing what I love I can also give back to my community. Wish Upon a Wedding allows me to do just that – be a part of an amazing organization geared toward making people’s dreams come true, all while working in the industry I adore! On Sunday I was honored to be a part of setting up and attending our inaugural gala for the Wish Upon a Wedding St. Louis Chapter, the Blissful Wishes Ball. And man oh man, was it a FABULOUS night! So let’s get to it!

Hey, hey St. Louis and surrounding areas! I have great news to share with you from the Wish Upon a Wedding St. Louis Chapter! We’ve finalized logistics for our inaugural black-tie gala, the Blissful Wishes Ball, and we couldn’t be more excited to share the details! Are you ready for this?!?

Join us for a night of dinner, cocktails and dancing at the Starlight Roof at the Chase on Sunday, November 14, 2010 at 6:00pm! If you’re familiar with the Starlight Roof at the Chase, you know what an amazing VIEW and amazing space it truly is, so you won’t want to miss out! More details are being finalized daily along with specifics on all of the wonderful vendors (wish granters) donating their goods and services to make it all possible! Check back frequently as I’ll be updating this blog post with a current list of those vendors!

You heard me right, Wish Upon a Wedding St. Louis made it’s first appearance at a bridal show – the St. Louis Perfect Wedding Guide Bridal Show at Windows on Washington in downtown St. Louis to be exact! Before I go any further, I MUST send out a very, very big thank you to Kassaundra and Adam from St. Louis Perfect Wedding Guide for donating a booth to Wish Upon a Wedding St. Louis! It was such a generous offer and we appreciate it more than I can say!

Kristin Weis, our board secretary, and I were on site for the four hour show to promote the organization, and I must admit the turnout and response was fantastic! Not that I would expect anything less from St. Louis! While many brides and their families had never heard of Wish Upon a Wedding, they certainly left more informed and eager to help out!

Remember that fabulous Wish Upon a Wedding Launch Party we had here in St. Louis just about a month ago!?! Well now that we’re officially launched here in town, things are only getting started! We still need everyone’s continued support to make the Wish Upon a Wedding St. Louis Chapter a success!

Right now we’re prepping for our gala, one of many Blissful Wishes Balls taking place around the nation as part of WUW’s official Month of Giving! If you haven’t already marked the date for the St. Louis Gala, it’s Sunday, November 14th!

It happened one Wednesday night in St. Louis at Lumen Private Event Space, and in fact it happened LAST night! The Wish Upon a Wedding St. Louis Chapter was officially launched last night and it was a huge success! Wedding industry professionals from all over the city came by to show their support at the Caribbean-chic themed event! It was truly AMAZING! A heart-warming and emotional speech from chapter president, Lacy Branch, topped off the night right!

If you made it out, and we know about 160 of you did, we appreciate it! If you missed out, we hope you can make it to our annual Wish Upon a Wedding black-tie gala on Sunday, November 14, 2010! Now, check out some of the amazing pictures from last night!!