Stephanie Hutchings and Justin Harris wanted to get married last month – but a succession of dreadful events have wrecked their dreams.
The couple, who live in Belmont, Walmer, had been planning their wedding for 13 years. The first blow to their plans came in March when Stephanie lost her job with the IT department at Pfizer in Sandwich. She was not entitled to redundancy pay.
The next big shock came two months later, when Stephanie and three friends escaped unscathed when their car was smashed into by a lorry on the M1 when they were travelling to Luton Airport for a weekend in Marbella.
Then four days after the crash came the biggest and most shattering blow of all. Justin suffered a serious stroke and had to be airlifted to a specialist hospital in Romford, Essex. He spent a total of four and a half months in hospital, five weeks in intensive care.
But now Stephanie, 32, and Justin, who has just turned 40, are hoping Mercury readers can give their year a happy ending. They are one of six couples trying to win a £10,000 wedding at the Hop Farm, Maidstone.
The competition has featured in What’s On, the leisure magazine which appears with the Mercury and all KM Group paid-for papers.
Justin, who was discharged from hospital two weeks ago, is paralysed down his right side and is wheelchair-bound. Says Stephanie: “Justin's dream is to walk me down the aisle.”
Justin adds: “Despite all our bad luck, we are determined to get married. And to get married at the Hop Farm would be fantastic.”
To read the full story, and to find out how you can help win Stephanie and Justin their dream wedding by voting for them, buy the current editions of the East Kent Mercury and Dover Mercury.