A Marriage for the Magazines

Kelly Jasper / senior photographer

Every little girl has dreams of her perfect wedding. For one JMU student, whose wedding already was planned, winning a bridal magazine contest for a $45,000 all-expense paid wedding meant giving up a few of her plans, but also having everything paid for.

Senior Casey Pullen is getting married June 24, and she doesn’t care if it isn’t exactly what she dreamed of. "[My parents] reassured me that … it might be different than I planned, but they would give Peter and I the money that would have been spent on the wedding to start off with," Pullen said. "When you are faced with starting your first year in a real job and supporting two people, the idea of money to fall back on is very reassuring."

Pullen and her fiancé, senior Peter Wills, met in Roanoke, where they both are from. The two have been dating for more than two years.

"This is probably the biggest thing that has ever happened to either of us," Wills said. "You always see advertisements for these sorts of things, but you never really think you will win. It is amazing that one of the biggest expenses of our lives thus far is completely taken care of."

Greater Virginia Wedding Ideas Bridal Guide held the contest, which Pullen applied for at Harrisonburg’s Bridal Impressions.

The bride randomly was selected from seven of the magazine’s markets, according to publisher Angeline Shannon. The contest had almost 1,000 people register, and they chose Pullen’s name in the drawing.

The $45,000 dream wedding covers everything from flowers, location and honeymoon, according to Shannon. It will be held in June at Ashlawn Highlands in Charlottesville, which is the home of former President James Monroe.

"I had always thought of an indoor reception, but this one will be outdoors. But Ashlawn Highlands is an amazing site — it’s historic and absolutely beautiful," Pullen said. "We kept the same time we were originally planning. We are going to have the reception in the evening, so it will be awesome to see the sunset over the mountains in the spring."

Vendors in the local area who advertise with Greater Virginia Wedding Ideas Bridal Guide donated services for the wedding. These include Bridal Impressions, Best Western, Valley Limo, Amanda’s Touch and High Tech Design and Day Spa.

"We are getting a lot of stuff that we would have never thought of to plan for the wedding, such as the day or two before the wedding — we get a limo to ride around with the bridal party and tour vineyards and do wine tasting," Pullen said. "That was a package by Globe Travel, who is also giving a honeymoon cruise to the Bahamas. We also are getting a chocolate fountain for the reception, which I would have never thought of, but I’m sure it will be awesome, and delicious."