Cancer survivor gets wedding of her dreams at city hall

First wedding ever at Winnipeg's City Hall A breast cancer survivor and her fiancé will be the first couple to ever tie the knot at Winnipeg's City Hall. Sarah Plowman reports.

After finding a cancerous lump on her breast in January, Lisa Carson-Walton was not sure if she would make it down the aisle.

The 31-year-old was officially diagnosed with breast cancer in March, and then underwent a mastectomy, reconstructive surgery and chemotherapy.

“We knew we were at risk, my mom passed away when she was 39,” Lisa said. “We knew to kind of watch for things as I got older, but we didn’t think it would happen so soon.”

Now as she recovers – and recent tests show there is no sign of cancer – she is getting the chance to plan her wedding day after being engaged for seven years.

However, her big day is coming quick, as she and her fiancé Chris Herie, won a contest to have their wedding at Winnipeg’s City Hall and have the entire cost covered by the city.

The contest, approved by council in March, was an initiative by the city to make the first ever civil marriage held at city hall a special day.

“I’m excited, I’m nervous," she said. “It’s nice to have something at the end that's like ‘look, it's not all bad’,” Lisa said.

Soon-to-be husband Chris said he is looking forward to finally marrying Lisa, and have the whirlwind they went through this year as a family end more positively.

“It's something else, it's focus elsewhere, and it's a nice turn to how 2016 went,” Chris said.

The wedding will take place at city hall on Friday afternoon.

The couple will celebrate their special day with their two children and around 20 guests.