On Cancer and Weddings
A warning right from the start: today’s post gets personal. It’s a little bit of my story and how you can be a part of a bigger story. You see, I sometimes forget that people do not know everything about me. I will drop things in conversation like:
“oh, because when my husband and I were dating in high school…”, which is often received with a “what? I did not know you were high school sweethearts” or:
“…you know I can sing you any show tune because I did theater most of my life”- “what? you were an actress?”
This happens most often when I drop the word. The “cancer” word. In the middle of a perfectly normal conversation I’ll say something like, “yeah, when my hair grew back in after chemo it was totally darker”. To which I am usually met with a confused, quiet stare.
At the age of 15, I was diagnosed with a rare form of Ewings Sarcoma and my life was forever changed. Multiple surgeries, 18 months of chemotherapy, countless hospital stays and one bald head took over my high school agenda. I faced fear, hopelessness and despair. I found true joy, faith and hope.
In fact, that is part of the reason why I chose to include the word “joyful” in my company name. Through my battle against cancer, I learned to find joy in the everyday. The little moments made me feel normal, made me feel overwhelmingly loved and gave me hope and peace as I trusted in God. Since completing my treatment, I have made it my goal to live each day joyfully, enjoying the blessings that each day brings.
In the past couple of months, I have been thrilled to hear that the wedding community is standing up to cancer. Showering love on those who are fighting, showing that we care. My heart is full being able to share them with you today.
Here locally in Southern California, San Diego wedding vendors have joined together to support the amazing Peggi Walker, of Metro Floral, who is bravely battling cancer. Through REVOweddings, local couples have the opportunity to bid on amazing wedding services in an online auction. More than 75 San Diego vendors have donated their talents to raise money for Peggi.
If you are a local bride getting married in San Diego, you can get some great deals for your wedding, all while supporting a wonderful cause. And, seriously- you can get some amazing discounted pricing!
If you are interested in having us coordinate your wedding, you can bid on us here (at over 50% savings!).
If you live out of the area, but are interested in ordering a custom banner for your wedding, you can also bid on that here.
Secondly, an amazing foundation has been started this year to give the joy of a wedding to couples battling terminal illnesses. Wish Upon a Wedding is the first wedding wish organization- similar in spirit to the Make-A-Wish foundation (which I was blessed to be a part of), they put together weddings for couples who might otherwise not be able to celebrate their love and commitment while going through such a difficult time.
I am so excited to get involved and see this grow! If you know of someone who would qualify or if you would like to get involved, you can find out more on the website.
Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for the life God has given me and I am so happy to be able to share it with you all!
Courtney, thanks for sharing =) I’m excited to get to know you more. Yay show tunes, suzanne
Thank you so much for sharing your story. What an incredibly strong spirit you have. My mom is a 10 year cancer survivor, and there isn’t a day that I’m not reminded how lucky I am to have her in my life. I can’t wait to meet you Courtney
wow courtney. spoken as a mere observer, cancer is heavy. thank for sharing. i’m def encouraged me to be more intentionally joyful for the goodness God has been, is, and will be in my life.
Thank you so much for sharing such a personal part of your life, Courtney! It’s always encouraging to find believers in unexpected places. God really uses each and everyone of us in a purposeful and deliberate way! Your strong faith and spirit are, I’m sure, an inspiration and encouragement to many!
courtney, i am so overwhelmed with faith by reading your story. i can’t imagine what you had to overcome at such a young age. i also love that in such a hard time, you looked for the little joys & blessings in life. that says so much about who you are, and one if the things i love best about you! thank you for sharing a piece of you. you are truly an inspiration to others! (i am excited to have you join wuw with us!)
Thanks for sharing your story on here, and also highlighting the cool things going on in our industry! So rad
you are a definitely a joy-filled woman, and your faith is truly encouraging. God is sooo good! He definitely has used this painful experience to grow you and to bless others. xoxo
courtney, you are such an inspiring person and i am so proud that you are my friend. I see God using you to make the world a better place.
Wow, Courtney! Your story is a true inspiration! Thank you so much for sharing. We can all learn so much from your “joyful” way of living and apply this positive outlook to our own lives! Thank you for all that you do!
[...] toney at joyful weddings and events. i read her blog post today about how she and others are raising money to benefit those who are affected by cancer by [...]
You’re great, Courtney
I’m glad you’re in my life and wedding!
Thanks for sharing your heart. You are such an incredible woman, and do shine with JOY everytime we see you! God is so good!
Thanks for sharing this Courtney! I love hearing about the great, generous things going on in the wedding industry. Most of all though, I love you!
Thank you for sharing your joy, faith and heart. We were blessed to have you do Krista’s wedding and blessed today to have you share your story.
Courtney! We are so blessed to have you in our lives too! I will never forget watching you and your wonderful family weather the storm while praising our Heavenly Father! AMAZING!! love you!!
Courtney, you’re such an inspiration to all of us. It sounds so easy to live joyfully each day but we need to deliberately make those choices and I’m sure it wasn’t easy for you at a young age especially in high school. Life is so precious and let’s continue to lift up our praises & gaze our eyes upon HIM for strength!
Courtney, you are one of the most beautiful people I have ever met and it is truly a blessing to know you. You were full of joy every time I saw you and I know that God is using you to build His kingdom. Keep up your joyful spirit.
Kels
[...] toney at joyful weddings and events. i read her blog post today about how she and others are raising money to benefit those who are affected by cancer by [...]