A Lot of Love, Just Not a Lot of Time

SKYLAR BERNSTEIN IS A 22-YEAR-OLD RECENT COLLEGE GRAD-AND SHE'S DYING. BUT A CHICAGO-BASED GROUP HELPED HER, JUST LIKE HUNDREDS OF OTHERS, HAVE A 'DREAM' CEREMONY WITH THE LOVE OF HER LIFE.

- JOHNNY DODD

In May, nearly nine months after being diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer and weeks after receiving her civil engineering degree from Georgia Tech, 22-year-old Skylar Bernstein was stunned to learn her tumor was progressing-fast. Her radiation treatment was wearing off, and doctors said her prognosis had shortened to six months. She and boyfriend Sam Wombough, also 22, thought of only one thing they had to do with their time left together: become husband and wife.

But amid Bernstein's health struggles, the wedding they had envisioned seemed out of the question. Then she stumbled upon a website for the Chicago-based nonprofit Wish Upon a Wedding.

Since 2009 the organization has provided nearly 300 free ceremonies and vow renewals around the country to couples facing terminal or life-altering health circumstances.