About the Fairy Godmother Foundation
The foundation was formed to provide a free wedding for a deserving couple facing life altering circumstances or a terminal illness. We seek couples who have delayed their wedding because tragic circumstances redirected wedding funds to pay for medications, treatment and other costs associated with a serious illness or sustained injury. There is little to no cost for the couple. Our couple is carefully selected by a community board. You can join us in making a difference.
Vision Statement
By planning and giving the gift of a magical wedding, bringing together family and friends during a difficult time, to a deserving couple, we will help make wishes and dreams come true on one of the most important days of their lives.
The seed was planted two years ago with a Bucket List that Colleen Bauer, the owner and founder of Fairy Godmother – Wedding and Event Company, started with her sister on their annual road trip to Oregon. On that list Bauer put “Give Back to the Community” and at the time she wasn’t sure how or what she would do. She just knew that she wanted to give back to the community that had been so gracious to her and her business.
Bauer came up with an idea to give a wedding away to a deserving couple! In January of last year, with the help of fellow Fairy Godmother’s Denise Ferdinand, Pam Huckabee and owner of Limousine Scene, Jim Luff, Bauer formed the Executive Board for The Fairy Godmother Foundation. The Board went right into action, first getting the word out. After launching a Facebook page, they were quickly flooded with emails from fellow wedding professionals wanting to help. “We had over 15 photographers volunteer to photograph our couple’s wedding; we were overjoyed at the response. It was a true testament to the big heart of Bakersfield,” said Bauer.
The Board then set out to find the perfect couple. They interviewed six finalists and chose Kurt and Blanca Dudley. After interviewing them, it was clear they were a couple richly deserving of this gift. When Kurt was first diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2002 he had most of his liver and spleen removed and was told he was cancer free. Fast forward some years Kurt asked Blanca to marry him! But tragically, while planning their wedding in November of 2013 Kurt found out his cancer had returned, this time it was Stage 4.
Their story was heartbreaking. Such a loving couple going through such heartache. Kurt went into an aggressive experimental study for the next several months. Unfortunately, the medication did not work and the study was cancelled. Kurt told Bauer “I just want to be well enough to dance with Blanca on our wedding day”. Well on October 24, 2014 dance he did! “It was a magical day, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house”, said Bauer.
“True giving comes from the same place inside you as your deepest happiness. They are inexplicably intertwined”. Sofan Chan
“The true art in giving is to give from the heart without an expectation of a return.”
