Wedding Contest: We Have A Winner!

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THE VOTES ARE IN, and the couple taking home the Express Wedding Giveaway package is Bill Watson, 31, and Fran Campion, 28.

The pair, who will marry on Oct. 6 in Pottsville, Pa., won readers' hearts with their poignant story — Fran was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer last year — and positive outlook. Fran (who's now cancer-free) and Bill wrote that "we were given the opportunity to face real adversity together. We saw how much strength we were able to draw from each other, and that we are truly stronger together." (And they won this newspaper's eternal love with a brilliant faux front-page telling their story, Express-style.)

The two weeks of the contest were stressful ones. "We really enjoyed reading the comments people were leaving for us," said Bill. "In the beginning, we were checking other people's comments, too, but it got too nerve-wracking. We were making ourselves crazy." When they received the call at home that they'd won, "I was alone in the apartment," said Fran. "And I ran downstairs to Bill, who was shoveling the car out." "She came skipping down half a block to where I was, and I kind of knew at that point," said Bill.

It's not all about the presents for the couple, though: "The whole contest was so much fun," said Fran. "The best part was seeing the support we got from our family and friends, and getting to read about the other couples in the contest and learn about them, too."