There’s nothing more adorable than a dog in a cute costume, except one that helps his mom find her engagement ring… and leads to this beautiful wedding.
Lauren & Vincent met their freshman year at Hope College. Some time was spent together at a few social outings, but they both went our separate ways the remainder of college. In Vincent’s first year of medical school at MSU, his roommate’s girlfriend (now wife) remained friends with Lauren (who was working in East Lansing), and a reunion ensued at the end of 2008. The two began dating in January of 2009, enjoyed many parties after Vincent’s exams (which usually meant late nights for Lauren on Monday nights). They were able to spend a good amount of time together, despite Vincent’s busy schedule, because they lived in the same apartment complex. However, that changed when Vincent moved to Grand Rapids for the last 2 years of his medical education.
Despite the move, they would see each other often with one traveling to the other almost every weekend. During Vincent’s Christmas break of 2010, he had not been feeling quite like himself the last few weeks. His dad (also a physician) and he decided to get some labs to try and figure something to get a quick fix in the short break Vincent had. Unfortunately, on Christmas Day, the lab called with critical values and Vincent had to go into the hospital for emergent transfusions. His dad and he knew this meant it was likely some kind of cancer, and 48 hours later, Vincent was diagnosed with leukemia. He was forced to take a leave of absence from school, and move back home with his parents while he underwent aggressive, life-saving chemotherapy for the next 9 months. Lauren stayed by his side the whole time, making the 2-hour round-trip drive to see him in the hospital almost everyday. Vincent’s leukemia has remained in remission since January of 2011, while he remains on maintenance chemotherapy until May of 2014. He was finally able to live on his own again and resume his studies in December of 2011. Within 3 months he had a ring to propose to Lauren (which she had no idea about)… which led to the adorable story they tell in their trailer.
Lauren and Vincent celebrated their love & lives with the sun shining down (which was very fitting for the bright pops of yellow throughout their wedding day). With decor by the always fabulous, RSVP Events, and bright, beautiful flowers from Eastern Floral, they danced the night away at the beautiful Goei Center downtown Grand Rapids.
The bride wore fabulous sparkly flats adorned with an adorable bow by Milk & Honey, as well as a gorgeous chiffon dress she found at The White Dress in Brighton, MI – which looked absolutely stunning next to her fabulous mis-matched bridesmaids!
We had so much fun telling their beautiful story… Good luck to you two! We wish you nothing but the best!
