NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Nashville woman fighting cancer received a free wedding thanks to the charity Wish Upon a Wedding.
Amanda Dimarzio and Sean Woodard's ceremony and reception happened in Germantown on Wednesday evening. Everything making up the wedding, from the dress to the venue, was donated by local Nashville businesses.
"The venue is donated, the catering is donated, the entertainment, the flowers the rentals," Wish Upon a Wedding's Keri Durkin said. The organization helps people with terminal illnesses get married or renew their vows. This was the charity's 150th wedding.
Wish Upon a Wedding chose Dimarzio and Woodard as wedding recipients a few months ago. Dimarzio is fighting a rare form of cancer.
"I have whats called neuroendocrine tumors. I have carcinoid syndrome," Dimarzio explained. She was diagnosed in 2015, and shortly after her diagnosis doctors discovered more than 25 tumors on her liver. She met Woodard two years after her diagnosis.
"After we had been dating for about a month, I started an experimental chemo trial and Sean never left," Dimarzio said, adding that Woodard went the extra mile to help her during her treatments, that would often leaver her unable to get out of bed. Soon he popped the question, but a mountain of medical bills left a wedding out of the question.
"Cancer takes a lot out of you," Dimarzio said. "Mentally, physically, financially, it's hard having an illness."
She said that's why the gift from Wish Upon a Wedding means to much.
"They haven't given us just a wedding, they've given us hope."
For more information about Wish Upon a Wedding and how to get involved with the charity, you can visit their website.
