Just ahead of Valentine’s Day, Palm Beach Atlantic alumna Kristin Moya will marry her long-time boyfriend, Luis Polanco, in Miami. Unlike other young couples, their ceremony on Tuesday, February 12, will be witnessed live by television viewers across the country as part of Lifetime television’s, “My Great Big Live Wedding with David Tutera.”
Alumna Kristen Moya Just over a year after graduating from PBA in May 2015 with a degree in psychology, Moya, then age 22, was diagnosed with breast cancer. The former peer mentor enrolled in graduate school to study forensic psychology. Though she was doing well in her classes, she began feeling unusually tired and thought that her busy schedule was to blame. But when she felt a small lump in her right breast in February 2016, she underwent diagnostic tests. By August of that year, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Hers was an aggressive form of cancer that was treated with surgeries and chemotherapy, including reconstruction. Along with her family and friends, Polanco was with her during many months of treatment.
When she had sufficiently recovered, the couple announced their engagement. Her mother, Elexenia, who is a 2018 PBA counseling graduate, shared their story with the television series’ producer and they were selected to have award-winning celebrity wedding planner David Tutera create their dream wedding. Tutera’s client list includes celebrities, royalty, politicians, and socialites. For the series, “My Great Big Live Wedding with David Tutera,” eight inspirational couples work with Tutera to receive the wedding of their dreams that will air live from a different city or town across the country.
“We scoured the country to find the most amazing couples whose true stories of courage and survival against all odds define real love. We’re honored to celebrate these love stories with America,” said Gena McCarthy, executive vice president and head of programming for Lifetime Unscripted and fyi. “David Tutera is a best-in-class talent who delivers dream events. We can’t wait to watch him make these deserving couples’ dreams come true.”
