Seattle Wedding Charity 'Get Hitched, Give Hope' Raises $64,000 for Stage IV Breast Cancer Patients

Online, November 9, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The room: spectacular. The fashions: stunning. The food: delectable. The auction items: must-have. The cause: worthy. The goal: shattered. On October 28th, 2010 over 500 brides, grooms, and members of the wedding community gathered at the impeccable Four Seasons Hotel Seattle to raise more than $64,000 for the Making Memories Foundation through silent and live auctions featuring goods and services donated by more than 100 of Seattle's top wedding vendors.

Seattle brides and their grooms, friends, and family, browsed silent auction items and chatted with photographers, bakers, stationers, and other professionals in an intimate, elegant, boutique wedding-show setting, while others clinked cocktail glasses, feasted on Four Seasons fare, and enjoyed the music of the Jason Parker Quartet. The elegant decor of the ballroom was a stunning collaboration donated by event sponsors.

The evening's main event, a show-stopping live auction, featured themed packages and big-ticket items including Tiffany's necklaces, a complete guy's night out, and couture bridal fashion. Guests were encouraged to buy raffle tickets, bid on items, and donate to help Get Hitched, Give Hope beat the goal of raising $50,000. The biggest bidder raised over $4,000 and Get Hitched, Give Hope volunteers were floored by the outpouring of generosity. Some brides completed their wedding shopping on top-tier wedding day necessities (and some luxuries!)-- at as little as 35 percent of the retail cost. Others raised the bar by bidding above the ticket price of live-auction items, all to fund the wishes of Stage IV breast cancer patients through the Making Memories Foundation.

"We absolutely SMASHED our goal!" Says Laurel McConnel, wedding photographer and Get Hitched, Give Hope founder. "It usually requires about $4,000 to grant each wish, and with the money we've raised, we can give memory-making experiences to another sixteen families."

At the end of the evening, breast cancer survivor Michele Hyra shared her story of living with the difficulties of surgery and chemotherapy and surviving against the odds. She reminded guests how important the opportunity to create meaningful memories with one's family can be for someone who is facing a terminal diagnosis, and how wonderful it is to feel like a person and not just a patient.

For more information and to participate in next year's Get Hitched, Give Hope, email [email protected] or visit http://www.gethitchedgivehope.com

About Get Hitched, Give Hope
Get Hitched, Give Hope is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Seattle wedding professionals to raise money for Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation. At its annual fundraiser, Get Hitched, Give Hope auctions off fabulous donations from local wedding vendors to Seattle brides and grooms so they can gorgeous goods for their weddings while giving back.

About the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation
Headquartered in Portland, OR, Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation™ is a non-profit organization dedicated to granting wishes, including memory-making events, for stage IV breast cancer patients, while continuing to support, educate and increase awareness of breast cancer. Since its founding in 1998, Making Memories has developed various fundraising divisions including Brides Against Breast Cancer™, Pink Envelope Project, Quilters Against Breast Cancer and Diamonds for Dreams. These divisions support wish fulfillment and various educational programs of the foundation. Each year, Making Memories receives thousands of wedding gowns from various manufacturers, designers, retailers and individuals for the Brides Against Breast Cancer™ Nationwide Tour of Gowns, making it the organization's primary fundraising activity. Making Memories has received national media coverage including Oprah, MSNBC, CNN, E! Entertainment, Newsweek, TIME, Redbook, Ladies' Home Journal, Brides, Modern Bride, Martha Stewart Weddings, Family Circle, Woman's Day and Shape magazine among others. For more information about Making Memories, please visit www.makingmemories.org.

###