Jen and Josh’s Wedding- Winners of Giving Back 2010 Wedding Contest!
Ceremony: Park at Corner of George and York Street, Lambertville, New Jersey
Reception: No. 9 Restaurant, Lambertville, New Jersey
Floral design: DIY
Back in May, we held the Giving Back 2010 Wedding Contest! Couples could enter to win wedding day photo coverage by David and Amy (up to 9 hours) with high resolution files and an online gallery for 6 months (valued at $4000+). After many entries, we met with 3 couples as finalists, then selected the couple we wanted to give back and capture their wedding day.
Congratulations to Jen and Josh! From the moment we read their entry, to the time we met with them as finalists, and even on their wedding day, we knew they were the perfect couple.
Here is their entry they had submitted for the contest:
Love Story: I read a quote somewhere that you don’t “get” married, you “become” married through all the trials of life and enduring them through love. In that way, Josh and I have been married for a long time.
In June 2008, about nine months after we started dating, I became very ill and was in the hospital. The doctors couldn’t diagnose me and it was likely that I was going to die. There wasn’t one moment when Josh wasn’t by my side along with the rest of my family. I was incoherent, but he held my hand. The doctors finally diagnosed me with a rare genetic illness that destroyed my liver, Wilson’s disease, and told me that if I didn’t have a liver transplant as soon as possible, I would die. This is a time when those of a lesser character might have cut and run, but he carried me through it and never left my side. Almost two years after the transplant, I’m so lucky to be alive, to be in love, and to have this second chance at life.
To add to our medical maladies, Josh has FSH muscular dystrophy that has wasted away many of his critical muscles. When we first met, his posture was undeniably different than other people. There was a lot of staring and pointing from strangers, but his incredible strength of character, humor, and grace always helped him lead a normal, if not extraordinary, life. It’s one of the reasons I fell so madly in love with him.
While life was hard and walking for him was even harder, we made it through. After the transplant I moved in with him and recovered and he took care of me and life got back to our version of normal. And then tragedy struck again.
That December, we went out on an icy night to meet friends. Josh stepped off the curb and fell and our lives changed forever. He’d fallen many times before and for most people that kind of fall wouldn’t have been so devastating, but for Josh, it meant he had a broken hip. While they could fix his hip, his balance was too unstable and he wouldn’t be able to walk again.
While he was in the hospital recovering, I had to find a wheelchair accessible apartment and move us in 10 days so he could come home from the hospital. We moved out of the apartment and town (Lambertville) where we fell in love into something more sterile, but accessible.
Josh made the transition into using a wheelchair with the same amount of grace he handled the rest of his life. Everyday has a learning curve and is an adventure or trial, but our love and humor carries us through. Our motto is “we’ll figure it out,” and we always do.
All of this seems like a lot to endure, and I think the only way we were able to get through it is because while all of this was so hard, loving each other was easy. We’re that schmoopy couple who supports each other and compliments each other and writes love notes. It’s the kind of fairy tale love I never thought was possible until I met him.
This past August we bought a house together back in our town, Lambertville. Josh proposed in March and we’re getting married! Though like I said, I think we’ve become married over the past three years.
A friend told me about this contest and I wanted to at least give it a shot even though our affair will be modest. Thank you for the opportunity.
And here are some of their photos on their wedding day, during the beginning of August:
Congratulations again, Jen and Josh! We had a wonderful time at your wedding!
