ONCE IN A LIFETIME

In October of 2017, Jennifer Jones got the surprise of her life when she was told that she would be getting new lungs that day after a long and painful battle with Cystic Fibrosis.
“It was the best moment of my life,”Jones said.
Then, about a year later, Jones, along with her fiancé, Robert Ronnenberg, got the second surprise of Jones’ life, when they found out that they were picked to be on a new Lifetime show, 'My Great Big Live Wedding with David Tutera.’
The Byron couple first became a potential match for the show when talent finders for the new show saw a viral video showing Jones taking her first breathes with her new lungs.
After being initial candidates for the show in the spring of 2018, they were told a crew would be coming to the small town in Minnesota to see if they would end up being on the show.
Once that crew got there, they were then surprised when they were told that they would be on the show, and in fact, David Tutera, a famous wedding designer and host of the new show, was there to add to the surprise.
The couple explained that while they know that the wedding ceremony and other parts of it will be live, the rest is still a mystery to them.
While most brides are busy picking out their wedding dress and helping to make other arrangements, all of those things are being taken care of as Tutera is designing the dress himself.
Although Jones admits that she is somewhat nervous for all the surprises and unknowns going into the wedding, they are also really excited.
“We have the easy part,” Jones said.
For Jones, what she is looking forward to the most is being able to marry the man that she has been with for close to six years.
“We have been through so much together,”Jones said, “It's so exciting that I get to walk down the aisle and marry him,” she added.
Another thing that the couple hopes happens at the wedding is being able to see the family of the girl that she got her lungs from.
“It would be wonderful to share the day with them,”Jones said.
As part of the transplant process, the couple had the opportunity to write a letter to the donor’s family. Because the person Jones got the lungs from had passed away, this was done through a third party.
The couple explained that part of the process is allowing that family to decide whether or not they want to receive the letter.
The donor family agreed to receive the letter and since they have communicated back and forth on occasion.
Although they hope that they will attend the wedding and be apart of it, the Byron couple understands that is difficult for the family.
Because CF is so important to Jones, the couple is hoping to use the wedding as a way to promote it more, and to make people aware of what it is.
“It's a huge part of who Jennifer is,” Ronnenberg said.
One of the ways that they have been working to do this is by putting producers in connection with people from the CF organization in hopes of getting information on the Lifetime website.
Although they will be getting married in a few weeks on live TV, the couple agreed that it still feels unreal.
The couple will be getting married live from the Twin Cities on Feb. 26 at 9 p.m. The episode will appear on Lifetime.