This cancer survivor tossed her wig instead of the bouquet

Offbeat partners: Brittany and Matt

Date and location: 9/09/2022 at The Venue at Winding Hills in Montgomery, NY

Our wedding at a glance:

First off, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer two days after booking our wedding venue, and had to undergo chemotherapy a few months later. Not the news you expect to coincide with planning your wedding… but more on that later.

We didn't have a particular theme, but we did our best to cut costs by making everything ourselves or having family and friends help. It was all the little details that helped make our wedding day super special, starting with the invitations – my sister, my mom and I spent hours measuring, cutting, gluing and printing each one!

My dad used a chainsaw to carve our last name out of a tree trunk that measured about six-foot long and weighed about 200 pounds!

We were able to reuse a three-tiered dessert display from my sister’s wedding that my dad also built using hand cut slabs of wood from his yard and a large tree branch as the stand.

Matt’s bow tie, as well as the junior groomsmen’s bow ties? Handmade by a friend.

We had custom printed napkins made up with our dog Bubba's face on it! And on a mask for photos 🙂

I made the table numbers using pressed flowers that were collected from my yard, my parents’ yard and flowers that my aunt had pressed from her yard. The incredible flowers used for the centerpieces, bouquets, boutonnieres, flower crowns and other details for the wedding were grown specifically for our wedding an were put together by a few close friends the night before the wedding!

The seating chart and welcome sign frames were built by Matt and I made the acrylic that hung from them.

Tell us about the ceremony:

Our longtime friend Alex officiated it:

Alex: “Welcome everyone! We are gathered here today to celebrate the tremendous joy and love that Brittany and Matt share. Thank you all so much for being here to witness this special moment in their lives.

Before we begin, I would like to say how honored I am that both of you asked me to be part of today and how much love I have for both of you as we help you enter this next chapter of your lives. Everyone here knows that Brittany and Matt have a deep infatuation with one another. We’ve seen this loving partnership grow stronger and more steadfast as the years have gone on.

All of that growth and commitment to one another has led them to this day. As many of you know, Brittany is as sarcastic as they come. She warms your heart by being herself and definitely holds you to your word. Hence, the reason I didn’t bail on standing in front of you all today. She makes her love known to you just by the way she stakes her claim as a part of your life.

Matt is one of the most welcoming men I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. He isn’t afraid of sharing his emotions and in doing so somehow makes you laugh when you should probably be crying. His heart is like his golf game as it gets better and stronger with time. Especially with a few drinks looking for your ball in the woods when his is annoyingly in the fairway.

These two people, although strong and independent on their own, are unstoppable together. With Bubba in the mix of course. Marriage isn’t always easy; your relationship will inevitably be faced with difficult times as any marriage is. But I am confident that you both, as you have already proven, will support one another through thick and thin.

As I’m sure most of you are tired of hearing me speak, it’s time for our bride and groom to make their vows of love for one another.”

Matt: “Brittany, I never thought that loving someone could be so easy. You bring so much happiness to my life, every single day. You’re my best friend, the love of my life, and the mother to our dog, Bubba.

I can’t believe that it has already been six years, it feels like yesterday that we were outside at my apartment, shooting rubber bands at empty beer cans. I fell in love with you immediately and today I will finally admit it, I did tell you that I loved you first.

I mean, how could I not? Your kindness, generosity, your laugh, your smile, and your ability to name the artist of any song we hear on the radio amazes me every day. I’ve known for a long time that I was going to marry you and the day is finally here. Today we will celebrate us, the good times are only beginning. And I cannot wait to see the life that we will build together.

From now until forever, I get to call you my wife, and to you I vow that I will be the best man, husband and friend that I can be to you. I will be there for you when you need it, and I’ll be there when you don’t. I will be you biggest supporter and your biggest fan. I will stop leaving empty cans next to the sink and ill even put my peanut butter spoon in the dishwasher.

I will laugh with you until we cry, and I will cry with you until we laugh.

I will be there in sickness and in health. Until death do us part, I’ll love you forever.”

Brittany: “Mattycakes, I’ve always thought it was so corny anytime someone said, “I get to marry my best friend,” but standing here today, I can’t help but say the same. You are my best friend, my person.

The person I get excited to come home to and look forward to hanging out with. The person whose hugs make even the worst days better. The person that makes me laugh without trying and also annoys me without even trying.

You have shown me what it’s like to love someone unconditionally and I promise to do the same for you.

You have been my shoulder to cry on and my shoulder to lean on and I promise to do the same for you. I will be everything you have been for me and more.

I promise to try my best to get used to “running on Matt time” even if that means never being on time to anything. I vow to hold you hand when the plane is descending no matter how sweaty your hands get. I promise to try my best not to torture you with the same 5 movies I watch on a weekly basis.

And I promise that no matter how times you say, “I’m going to use it again,” you will never reuse that dirty peanut butter spoon you left in the sink.

You have been by my side through sickness and health and our relationship has only grown stronger. Thank you for all that you are, all that you do, and making me feel complete. You are the love of my life, my travel partner, the best dog dad, my strong side.

I will never stop loving you or the way our stomachs somehow always crave the same thing. I can’t wait to start this next adventure with you. Now you’re really stuck with me.”

Neither of us knew what the other had written until that moment and so for us to both mention the peanut butter spoon was very funny!

Tell us about the reception:

We rented a vintage VW bus that was used as a photobooth for our polaroid guestbook. The couple that owned the bus were incredibly friendly and helpful. They provided all kinds of props and a beautiful setup for everyone to enjoy. They also offered to take anyone and everyone's picture that asked.

We rented After the Tone which is a voicemail guestbook. The company provides a vintage rotary telephone that records messages from your wedding guests. They simply pick up the phone, leave a message for the newlyweds, hang up and it's recorded. The guests LOVED it and it was especially awesome listening to the voicemails a few weeks later!

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?

Shortly before my second round of chemo treatment, my hair started falling out and soon I was completely bald. Even though my treatments would be finished by July and my immune system would be back to normal by September, the version of myself I envisioned on my wedding day was completely shattered.

So, I bought myself a nice wig in anticipation of the big day. As it got closer to the wedding, my hair was coming in nicely and even though I was feeling very confident with my short hair, I didn't want the wig to go to waste.

I came up with an idea; I was going to wear the styled wig at the ceremony, but for the reception I was going to take the wig off. We had practiced the hair toss in our living room for about a week before the wedding, and Matt had tried to teach me how to toss it gracefully.

During our first dance, I ripped off the wig and flung it into the air…

…accidentally hitting an unsuspecting guest in the crowd.

It was such an incredible feeling! I was able to get the best of both worlds – the long beautiful hair I had always pictured having on my wedding day AND the punk rock pixie cut cancer gave me.

There is no way to predict what the future holds, so DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL THINGS when it comes to wedding planning.

Wedding vendors:

• Photographer: Randi Roberts IG: @randirobertsphoto
• Dress: Betsy Wise Bridal
• Flowers: Sea Change Farm & Flower IG: @seachangeflower
• DJ: Larry with Much Music IG: @muchmusicdj
• Hair: Hair Beauty By Bay IG: @hairbeautybybay
• Makeup: KMR IG: @kmrmakeup
• VW Bus: Tela Bus IG: @telabus78
• Voicemail Guestbook: After The Tone IG: @afterthetone.co
• Cake: Drewsserts IG: @drewsserts

Gallery: