The wedding of Weston Parsel and Annapurna Kennedy on April 30 went without a hitch. But Parsel couldn’t make the rehearsal dinner the night before. He was in the hospital.

Parsel is a self-described “CF fighter,” being diagnosed at birth with Cystic Fibrosis, the genetic disease that causes severe damage to the lungs and digestive system. Despite painful and life-threatening episodes, he is a bike racer, extreme hiker and has done marathons and triathlons, several with Kennedy.

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“The San Dieguito Half Marathon that goes through Rancho Santa Fe is our favorite,” said Parsel, an active fundraiser for the CF Foundation. “We’ve also done the San Diego Half Marathon at Liberty Station.”

Do you know of an interesting wedding or one with a compelling story behind it that occurred in the past year? Let us know so we can consider it for a story. Email weddings@sduniont... and write “story idea” in the subject line.Despite careful adherence to exercise, diet and medical treatment, sometimes CF gets the better of Parsel.

“Wes was with us at the hotel before the rehearsal, hoping it would pass,” Kennedy said. “But as people started to arrive, he realized he wasn’t going to get better.

Parsel’s dad, Tim, took him to the emergency room at Kaiser Permanente Zion Medical Center. His mom, Lori, stayed with Kennedy.

“His mom was really supportive and helped calm me down,” the bride noted. “We stayed for the rehearsal and dinner, and then immediately went to the hospital. We missed him a lot.

“Our groomsmen and bridesmaids were incredible in the way they kept spirits high. Everybody knew what had happened. When the groom didn’t show up for the rehearsal, we had some explaining to do.”

The couple, both 28, lives in Los Angeles. Kennedy, who works for United Talent Agency, was born and raised in University Heights. Parsel is from Irvine and works in marketing, for ChowNow, an online food-ordering firm.

They met in 2006 when they were freshmen at Chapman University in the City of Orange and began dating 3 years later. When their careers allow, they’ll move to San Diego, where they chose to get married. But CF complicated the logistics.

“I first felt sick Thursday at 2 a.m.,” Parsel recalled. “It was a crazy moment when I realized I was about to get married in two days. I didn’t want to be in an L.A. hospital because it’d be too far from San Diego. I drove to Orange County, to the hospital I’m most familiar with. I spent the majority of the day there and came to San Diego Friday.”

With extra attention from Kaiser’s staff, who knew Parsel was a groom-to-be, he attended his own wedding.

The nuptials were held at Green Acre Campus Pointe, Chef Brian Malarkey’s restaurant on a bluff overlooking Sorrento Valley. It was a great site for First Look photographs.

“All brides probably feel the First Look’s special,” Kennedy said, “But it was the first time I’d seen Wes since the hospital, when he had tubes in his nose and was in a hospital gown. I’d been so scared.

“The next day, I saw him and he had done a complete 180. He was so handsome and it gave me a sense of calm and relief. It was really memorable to have those few minutes by ourselves.”

The couple worked with planner Kelsey Smith from Kelsey Rae Designs for six months prior to the wedding. Kennedy said Smith was especially helpful at the rehearsal in brainstorming ways to handle the event if Parsel couldn’t make it.

Luckily, he arrived. The cake was missing, but on purpose. Pop Pie Co., a University Heights casual restaurant set to open in August, provided the sweet treats.

“I was visiting my parents and drove by the shop,” Kennedy said. “Wes and I both love pies. With traditional wedding cake, hardly anyone eats it. The pies were a hit; there weren’t any left. We had adorable little pie toppers.”

Parsel said his parents and hers, Kathi and John Kennedy, helped make the whole process fun and easy.

Much of the wedding had special meaning because of the crisis the couple experienced in the days before. One such moment was their first dance.

“We’d practice the wedding dance to the (Sam Cooke) song, ‘You Send Me,’” Parsel said. “After a week that had so much uncertainty, to get to the first dance was a big deal. Every wedding has a first dance, but this was really significant.”

Parsel accepts that he is bound to go through highs and lows. He appreciates that Kennedy has a positive attitude, similar to his. A sense of humor is handy, too.

Kennedy predicted the pre-wedding ordeal will be funny later on.

“During it, we kept reminding ourselves: ‘It’s tough now, but it will be a good story to tell in 5 years,’” she said. “We knew we’d get through this, like we have in the past. And it proved to be true. The wedding worked out perfectly.”

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