Since 2009, Chicago-based nonprofit Wish Upon a Wedding has provided nearly 300 ceremonies to couples facing a terminal illness or life-altering health circumstance.
Every day, executive director Lacey Wicksall receives calls from couples across the country and helps their wedding dreams come true.
“When you're going through a tragedy, you just need someone to walk into your darkness and do something nice for you,” Wicksall told People Magazine. “And that's what we're here to do — to just provide a respite in the middle of the storm.”
Wish Upon a Wedding takes a community approach to every wedding request. The nonprofit allocates $2,000 for each wedding “wish,” working with local wedding planners, videographers, and caterers in the couple’s hometown, who often discount their services or entirely donate their time.
Last year, Georgia wedding planner Lydia Leek recalled a wedding she arranged for the nonprofit on behalf of 22-year-old Skylar Bernstein, a bride-to-be who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer.
With the wedding date fast approaching, Leek immediately reached out to her list of local vendors.
“I spoke to more than 12 of them, from florists and photographers to cake caterers, and everyone was so willing to help," Leek said. "I didn’t have to ask anybody twice. They all just said yes.”
That August, Bernstein married her husband Sam Wombough against the backdrop of Blue Ridge Mountains, surrounded by her friends and family.
“It was everything I could have dreamed of,” Bernstein said.
A version of this article originally appeared in the 2025 Relationships Edition of the Goodnewspaper.
Header image via Newman Photographs
