Wish Upon a Wedding was created to celebrate the courage, determination and spirit of these couples by granting their dream wedding wishes. With chapters across the country, our hope is that chosen recipients can inspire others couples facing similar situations to find hope and strength. This is the 3rd Wedding Wish granted by The Southern California chapter, which launched in April 2010. Shawn Groth of Groth Dance and Choreography stepped up to the plate and offered to give dance lessons to this deserving couple.
Sosa, 44, is battling end-stage liver disease related to Hepatitis C and is now on a list to receive a liver transplant. He and his fiance, Adriana Tafoya, 32, hope the ravaging disease will spare him until then.
“There are things that I haven’t yet learned that I need to,” Sosa, a tall man with striking features, said recently from the couple’s Temple City home. “I think there are things I can offer people, love and advice, from the things I’ve experienced in my life.”
Today, the couple will exchange vows at an intimate ceremony at the Maxwell House in Pasadena. The whole event – from the couple’s attire, to the catering and venue – is being donated by area vendors through Wish Upon a Wedding, a nonprofit that grants weddings for those facing life-threatening illnesses and other serious circumstances.
Sosa, who has five children but never married, said he is “in shock” by everyone’s generosity.
“I told them, `why would you guys help us?”‘ said Sosa, who owned a real estate investment firm before doctors ordered him to stop working years ago. “I was very touched, especially because I wouldn’t be able to do it because of my sickness and my finances.”
The Southern California Chapter of Wish Upon a Wedding is one of two dozen chapters throughout the nation. Congratulations to this happy couple and best wishes for the future!
Manny Sosa and Adriana Tafoya, of Temple City, take a dance lesson from Shawn Groth at The Granada in Alhambra Saturday, February 25, 2012 as they prepare for their Monday wedding provided by Wish Upon a Wedding. (Sarah Reingewirtz / Staff Photographer The Daily Breeze)
About Groth Choreography and Dance:
Shawn Groth has 17 years of experience as a dance instructor and has trained professionally in many styles of dance including Ballroom, Latin, Swing, and Country. Even though Shawn is an expert choreographer, his teaching style focuses on much more than just the steps. Shawn’s method includes an acute focus on personal connection in dance. Connection is what makes a dance genuine, natural and beautiful and Shawn is an expert at getting couples to the heart of dancing.
Shawn has won multiple awards over the years for his dancing ability and his skills teaching and sharing what he’s learned with people from all backgrounds and walks of life. He’s refined his own, simple method of instruction that gets people dancing quickly and easily. Shawn believes that a good perspective of dance is crucial to the ability to learn dance quickly and he is passionate about relating that perspective to each individual dancer.
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