POSTED: Friday, July 29, 2011 - 10:20am
UPDATED: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 - 10:41am
EL PASO- Our platinum wedding giveaway drew hundreds of entries of hopefuls looking to win the wedding of their dreams.
This past weekend, four judges read through each and every entry and drew four finalists and from those, another judge picked the winner. EYT Event Planning and Catering, who organized the wedding giveaway, surprised the couple with the happy news. Brooke Hosch and her fiancé, Bryan Pearen, got the surprise of their lives by learning they've won the Lifetime of Memories Bridal and Quince Platinum Wedding Giveaway.
“I was shocked. I'm mean speechless, shocked,” said Brooke.
Brooke saw the commercial for the Platinum Wedding Giveaway and entered the contest. “Together we have four kids. Bryan has two from a previous relationship. I have one from a previous relationship. And we have our beautiful angel together,” wrote Brooke in her entry.
Their daughter, Mariah, was born two months premature and spent four months in the hospital. She continues to need special care. “Going through what we went through with our daughter brought us so much closer together. It seems like we've been through the worst and we can make it through anything,” said Brooke.
“She's my best friend. She's always there when I need her. She supports me and brings me up when I’m down. And I do the same for her. We look out for each other,” said Bryan.
Four judges went through the 402 contest entries. The judges say it was very hard to pick a winner, but in the end they chose Brooke’s entry. “They've been through a lot and they've done it together and they've been able to grow and learn and love each other through everything they've been through,” said judge Veronica Valles.
Brooke and Bryan had already been chosen as the winners, but Cody Alcon, the organizer of the Platinum Wedding Giveaway and co-owner of EYT Event Planning and Catering wanted to make it a big surprise.
“We kept on playing that they were finalists, that there were other couples outside and as soon as they walked outside, we told them they were the winners,” said Cody.
Oralia Ortega was also in on the act, telling the couple the interview was part of the contest process. After escorting Brooke and Bryan to the lobby where the vendors for the platinum wedding giveaway were gathered, they got the exciting news! The process of making it to the altar started right then and there when Bryan received the engagement ring for his proposal.
After meeting every single one of the vendors and finding out about everything they're providing for the wedding, the whole thing started to sink in. Now comes the hard part: pulling off the big wedding on August 12th. Brooke and Bryan can't wait to get started and begin their lives as husband and wife.
“I'm ready. I'm definitely ready,” says Brooke.
The Platinum Wedding takes place two weeks from tomorrow. We are going to follow Brooke and Bryan as they plan their dream day and bring up updates here on NewsChannel 9 tonight.