A Windy City Wish

Love Story

Oct 31

On November 7, 2021, Hillary and Tommy will gather before family and friends to commit their lives to each other in marriage and to celebrate a love that has already endured more than many face in a lifetime.

Hillary and Tommy met, as they like to say, “the old fashioned way”, online in 2016. They spend their first two dates at a concert and then walking the streets of Chicago getting to know each other. They soon fell in love and were engaged in 2018 while on a snorkeling trip to the Virgin Islands. While the couple had originally planned to get married in Hillary’s hometown of Columbus, OH, in 2020, COVID had other plans.

Sadly, after having to move the date of their wedding, they received the disappointing news that the venue that they had secured had gone out of business. They were back to the drawing board and decided to hold off on finding a new location.

It was around this time that Hillary was awoken in the night with a significant pain on her right side. After consulting with a friend who is a physician, she decided to get it checked out. She was given a CT scan at the urgent care that revealed a cyst on her liver. While it was concerning, they were reassured that it was likely nothing to worry about and were referred to a GI doctor. And that’s when everything changed.

An MIR revealed that Hillary is suffering from an extremely rare and intensely aggressive form of cancer that has moved into her adrenal gland. Her particular type of cancer is so rare, in fact, that her doctor believes that she is one of about 10 people in the world to have it.

Hillary immediately underwent an incredibly difficult and potentially life-threatening surgery to remove the tumor. Although the surgery was successful, the cancer grew back in just 6 weeks and had spread to her pelvis. She went on a comprehensive chemotherapy regiment which originally worked, but quickly stopped. Because of the severity of her disease, and the fact that little research has been done on her particular strain of cancer, treatment has been a rollercoaster of trial and error.

The past six months have been overwhelmingly difficult for Hillary as she has dealt with a host of complications and challenging side effects. Through it all, the couple’s love for each other has continued to grow and mature. While they are most certainly not living the life they envisioned at 29 and 31 years old, they are committed to doing whatever it takes to fight Hillary’s cancer, while trying to find joy in unlikely places.

We fell in love with Hillary and Tommy and their heartbreakingly beautiful story and simply cannot wait to make this wish come true for them. We brought on a wonderful planning team in Kelley and Conley at Urban Allure Events and have been so impressed by the team they have assembled on such short notice.

Special thanks to this kind and generous crew.

Planner: Urban Allure Events

Venue and Catering: LM Studio

Photography: Ed and Aileen Photography Company

Videography: With Love Productions

Band/Entertainment: Funktastic Productions

Floral: Ashland Addison Floral & Event Decor

Baker: ECBG Cake Studio

Hair and Makeup: The Bridal Beauty Team

Eyelashes: Jackie G Beauty

Paper: XOXO Invites

Photobooth: Grin & Bear Booth