After successful operations, Audrey and John made a mutual decision to take the next step and get married. “After all,” Audrey mused, “God spared my life, and through mine and John’s tough times, our love just continued to grow and grow.”
Audrey called a friend for some advice on wedding dress shopping, and after a few searches, she went ahead and ordered a dress that she liked, but after failing to get in touch with the company regarding her dress order, she ended up having to cancel her order. Audrey had already envisioned the type of wedding dress she wanted to be in: a dress that would fit her nicely, hang gently against her body, and would feature a sweetheart neckline. Most importantly, she wanted a dress that John would also love: “I just tried to budget everything and looked for the dress that I think John would want to see on me and that my wonderful blessed day would be the way God would want it to be.”
When she started to fret that her chemo scar would be seen in her dress, John told her to stop worrying about it and show it off as her badge of honor instead. Fortunately, her friend Becca found Cocomelody and started sending photos of beautiful dresses to Audrey. After seeing a dress she particularly liked, Audrey decided to call Cocomelody and ended up conversing with Cocomelody’s in-house designer Puey Quiñones. They ended up talking on the phone for over an hour, wherein Puey found out Audrey’s inspiring life story, from her battle with breast cancer to her bad experiences in love. After the phone call, Puey was so touched by his conversation with Audrey that he couldn’t sit still, as he explained: “While I was talking to her on the phone, I found my self sobbing. That phone call touched my heart and even after the call I was very emotional, I don’t know why, maybe because I was lonely or something. So I told my boss about that call, and my boss told me maybe I can do something for her.”
After some discussion, it was agreed that Puey would personally deliver and gift the desired wedding dress to Audrey. A few weeks later, Puey and Cocomelody’s Los Angeles marketing director Nic Albritton flew from Los Angeles to Taulatin, Oregon, to meet Audrey for the first time in person and get to know her more. Although the trip was short, everyone genuinely had a good time, as Puey recalled: “She was such a darling. She was also hesitant at first because she lives in a very small apartment with her cats. But I told her that we came here to see how you are doing and not your house. I am glad I did because I wanted her to feel special after what she’s been through. It is the best feeling to see someone happy; it’s amazing! Thank you to my boss and my company Cocomelody for agreeing to do this.”
Nic and Puey en route to Taulatin, Oregon. Image from Cocomelody.
Audrey fits her dream wedding dress at home in Taulatin, Oregon. Image from Cocomelody.
Audrey takes Nic and Puey to her favorite spots around Taulatin, Oregon. Image from Cocomelody.
On August 13, at the age of 61, Audrey got married for the first time to her one true love John, with their friends, family and her church as witnesses to their undying love for each other. Audrey looked beautiful in her sleeveless lace gown with its open back:“To me, it is a dress dream come true. I would’ve never known that after 20 years, I was ever going to be with anybody again.”
Audrey looking radiant in her Cocomelody wedding dress. Image from Cocomelody.
The back view of Audrey’s Cocomelody wedding dress. Image from Cocomelody.
After I asked Audrey what advice she would give others who have been badly burned in love the way she has, she simply and succinctly said: “I just wish genuine happiness comes to every person who finds love again.”
The happy couple. Image from Cocomelody
From the entire Cocomelody team, we offer our congratulations to John and Audrey! We wish you a blessed life together filled with happiness, laughted, and unconditional love.