Heartfelt And Emotional Wedding

Today’s wedding might just be one of the most special we’ve had the privilege of featuring, and it’s a testament to the strength of true love. Of course all love stories are special but sometimes you hear of one that really touches you and it makes you realise how lucky you are not only to have your health but to have the right person walk beside you in life should a situation like Angela’s arise. Angela is currently fighting a hard battle with cancer and whilst you wouldn’t know it save for the few images of her getting ready at the top of the post, she had only days before finished her latest round of chemotherapy and still had her PICC line in her arm (which she masked beautifully with a lace cuffééò genius!). The transformation on her wedding day was incredible ééò for her photographers SWIFT & CLICK it was the first time they had seen her with hair. Right now Angela desperately needs to raise over a million dollars as she has been accepted for a transplant in Seattle, where there is a treatment specific for her disease not available in New Zealand. As you can imagine, raising this amount of money is a near impossible task so whilst I don’t usually ask anything of my readers, I would love you to reach into your pockets and GIVE a littleééò any and every little bit counts!

It’s in situations like this where the saying ééòin sickness and in health’ really comes into it’s own. I know little of Angela’s story, aside from what I’ve seen in the media recently so it makes sense to have her photographer Rachel from SWIFT & CLICK tell us a little more about the day below. What I do know is that she’s one heck of a strong lady, who looked like an absolute goddess on her special day. She has an amazing husband to share her life with and deserves to win this battle to do just thatééò have a future together.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE AND HELP ANGELA

ééòLike most couples we shoot, Angela and Raymond’s story is about love, about connection and about family. But for these two and their family and friends it’s a story that includes cancer. When Angela first approached us to photograph her wedding she wanted to meet face to face. Intelligent and beautiful we immediately knew she would be a stunning bride. She spoke about her wedding and her plans confidently, she also spoke very matter of factly about her cancer. She seemed more worried about how her condition might effect us than how it was effecting her. She was brave and strong, not like someone who was facing the very real possibility of a near death if doctors were to be believed.

The event itself was beautiful and emotional, hard at times but fully worthwhile. The thing that came through strongest was Raymond and Angela’s positivity and love. They were careful to emphasise that they were not getting married because of the cancer, that the cancer was a side note to their story, not the main point of it. Angela never once asked for special treatment- despite frequently feeling sick, despite barely being able to eat, despite the hours of standing up in a big wedding dress while being full or radioactivity. The wedding wasn’t full of sadness, just the opposite it was full of life- the guests and bridal party savouring their time together with a kind of importance that was palpable. Raymond’s support of Angela made every husband feel inspired, Angela’s courage speaking volumes to every woman. We all felt something and were exempt from feeling awkward at letting tears flow freely. We didn’t feel like outsiders taking photos, we felt like a part of it.

After the wedding we didn’t really let on that Angela had cancer on our Facebook or website. We felt a bittersweet aftertaste every time we edited the photos. If only there was some way we could help Angela, some way any of us could. Then we found out Angela had only one chance left, and that’s where we all come in.

Angela desperately needs to raise over a million dollars. She has been accepted for a transplant in Seattle, USA where there is a treatment specific for her disease, not available in NZ. She needs all the help she can get. You can read more about her story here, or donate here. You can help this little family keep inspiring us, and help Angela keep on fighting against this horrible disease.ééò