FLINT, MI – On Sunday, 30-year-old Jennifer Hutcheson will get her makeup done, put a wedding dress on her frail body and adjust the brown, curly wig she picked out for her wedding day.

The wedding vows that include "in sickness and in health" never rang more true.

They describe the life that Hutcheson and 49-year-old Allen Korth have lived out every day for the past five years. Except they've never been able to get married, until now.

It was one of Hutcheson's final wishes as cancer spread throughout her body and in February was given only two to six months to live.

"It's kind of surreal, emotional," said Hutcheson, a 2002 Kearsley High School grad. "It's going to be better than I thought it would be. ... Being able to afford a wedding on its own would be hard to do at this time for us. It wouldn't have been done."

The couple won't have to worry about a thing as friends, family and a nonprofit organization, Wish Upon a Wedding, swooped in to help plan a wedding in only three weeks.

Tears filled her eyes when Hutcheson talked about the wedding and about Korth. A smile also came across her face.

Hutcheson and Korth have been dating for nine years, starting when she was 21 and he was 40. Then, when Hutcheson was 25, a lot of things changed. She was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

Through seven rounds of chemotherapy, three rounds of radiation, surgery, hair loss and weight loss, Korth never left her side.

If the couple had it their way, they would have gotten married a few years ago, but Hutcheson would have lost her health insurance, and that wasn't an option. After she entered hospice care two months ago, they realized getting married wouldn't affect her care.

Getting married was finally a possibility. Hutcheson would be able to spend the rest of her life as Mrs. Jennifer Korth.

So on Sunday, July 6, Hutcheson and Korth will finally say their vows to each other in a ceremony at a Fenton home.

"When there's something you've always wanted and you're faced with death ... it kind of brings peace to you. There's something about changing your last name to the person you love. It's just important to me that I get to do that," Hutcheson said.

Decorations in bright pink, black, white and gray will be set up for the special occasion. Korth will be in a dark gray tuxedo while Hutcheson walks down the aisle in her long, white dress and a wig covering her now very short hair.

Now weighing only 88 pounds, Hutcheson hopes she will be able to walk all the way down the aisle without using her wheelchair.

But what she's looking forward to most is seeing Korth's reaction.

"I'm really excited to get his reaction. It's not what you see sitting here. I look happy. I mean I'm always happy. But I look healthy with everything together, the makeup people and the hair people. I have a nice wig and the dress. You get to feel good," she said.

Their wedding will be the third wedding in Michigan through Wish Upon a Wedding since a Michigan chapter was created in 2011. The national organization was created in 2010 to provide weddings and vow renewals to couples facing terminal illness and serious life-altering circumstances.

"They're perfect. They're what we're here for. They're the most deserving, loving couple," said Laura Allis, president of the Michigan chapter of Wish Upon a Wedding. "Look at Allen. When Jennifer gets upset, all he has to do is touch her or look at her and he calms her. They're a true Wish Upon a Wedding couple."

"We're just better together"

When Hutcheson and Korth talk about their lives together, they don't focus on the cancer. They smile and laugh and talk about each other and being goofy together.

They have two dogs – one miniature schnauzer and one Jack Russell terrier – that brighten their lives. They sing karaoke together upstairs in their Flint home and Hutcheson laughs while Korth makes impressions.

The love they have for each other is obvious.

When Hutcheson realized a wedding could be a reality, she made the first move. Her text to Korth read, "Want to get married?"

"We love each other. We played married already," Hutcheson said. "I'm shocked. We didn't think we were going to get married."

Korth looks at Hutcheson with a smile on his face when he talks about her.

As it gets closer and closer to the wedding, Korth said he's excited to celebrate with his new bride on Sunday.

"She is a happy, happy person. ... She is completely genuine. She has never, ever been who she's not. Not even once," Korth said. "That's what you want in another person, someone who's going to be there for you. And if the situation was reversed and it was me that got sick, I know without a doubt that she would be there for me."

When asked why he wanted to marry Hutcheson, Korth responded with, "Because she's beautiful."

Even when she was bald from the cancer treatments, Korth said she was the cute, bald girl.

Hutcheson said she is thankful for her relationship with Korth. Their relationship is something she doesn't believe she could have had with someone her own age.

He has stood by her the entire time and been exactly what she needed.

"He just treats me well and (he's) able to be the rock I need when things fall apart for me, hold me together when I'm falling apart," Hutcheson said. "He stood by me even when I told him he didn't have to.

"It's pretty obvious that I love him to death. We're just better together than we are separate. I don't want to see a time without him."

Laura Davis, Media/PR chairwoman for Wish Upon a Wedding of Michigan, said she's happy to be a part of the couple's wedding day.

The couple is truly deserving, she said.

"When people get married they vow a lot of things together. And Jennifer and Allen live those vows every day without ever having to take that step with a wedding. That's the example of how we should live," Davis said. "It's a real honor for us to give this gift to them."

"Smile, even when it sucks"

The past five years have been a fight to stay alive for Hutcheson, but she doesn't focus on that, she said.

She chooses to enjoy each day she is given.

Right before Hutcheson turned 25, her father passed away. But before he did, he noticed that his daughter seemed stressed. Soon after, she couldn't keep any food down and lost 20 pounds.

When she went to the doctor, she was told she had a tumor in her esophagus and then they also found one in her stomach.

In December of 2009, she went in for surgery and in February 2010 doctors gave her less than a year to live.

"I fought and fought and fought for the time that I had," Hutcheson said. "Somehow, my body started to get better."

Since then, Hutcheson has been in remission multiple times, lost her hair multiple times and has dropped from 140 pounds to 88 pounds.

The cancer has spread throughout her body and every day she is in constant pain. She has a scar that runs down her stomach and has a feeding tube to help her get some nutrients.

Standing is difficult. And sometimes depending on how she is feeling, she finds herself lying on the floor to find comfort.

But each day is gift, she says.

Hutcheson continues to set goals along her journey. Her goal was to make it to her 30th birthday. On March 24, she reached that goal.

They had a weekend-long celebration with friends and family. On March 24, she put on a pink wig and visited Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids to see the butterfly exhibit.

Her next goal was to make it to her wedding. After Sunday, she will make another goal.

"You get something you look forward to," Hutcheson said.

When Hutcheson and Korth wake up each morning, they embrace the day. They don't focus on Hutcheson's illness.

"It's here. We have a new day. We get to make more decisions and enjoy the day. ... You have to be thankful for what you have. Enjoy what you have. Make other people enjoy what they have if you can because a lot of people lose sight of the good stuff they have and they focus on the bad," Hutcheson said. "We don't spend a lot of time thinking about cancer. We spend more time talking about politics and silly stuff and he makes funny cartoon (voices). We just have a good time and he keeps me laughing. It's worth it. "

Hutcheson hopes she can make someone's life better through her story. She hopes she can make a difference.

She hopes that people would stop and realize that life is too short to let the little stuff ruin their day.

Her advice is simple.

"Try not to be so wound up on the stuff you're going through. Everybody thinks what they're going through is the worst thing. Try to do something good for someone else. The way I live is I want for myself just to leave the world better than it was before. I don't know if I've done that, but I'm trying," Hutcheson said. "Smile, even when it sucks. I smile to make other people's day change.

"Just remember, other people are going through stuff around you."

Hutcheson said she wishes she could join the team at Wish Upon a Wedding and continue to help people the same way she's been helped through the process.

Allis said the biggest challenge is getting the word out that Wish Upon a Wedding exists. Anyone who wishes to apply can do so at www.wishuponawedding.org to fill out an application.