Published April 15, 2013
Meghan Giordano-Capossere loved a good wedding.
She watched almost every wedding-themed TV show she could find. It was how she passed the time between cancer treatments.
“Don’t get me wrong, she loved her career,” said her sister Lindsay Giordano. “But I think she was really biding her time until she could get married and become a mom. That’s what she wanted more than anything.”
A barber at G Salon, Giordano-Capossere had to stop working last year because the chemotherapy and radiation took so much out of her, said her husband, Carl Capossere, of Atlanta.
“So since she couldn’t be at work, she watched a lot of TV,” he said. “The wedding shows were her favorite.”
The couple met in 2009, by chance through a mutual friend. By the Spring 2012, the two were engaged and Giordano-Capossere’s cancer was thought to be in remission, but she soon found out it had spread. Disappointed, Giordano-Capossere forged on and planned her dream Vegas wedding, complete with an Elvis impersonator to officiate the nuptials.
“She really wanted to get married,” Giordano said, of her sister. “That was her goal.”
Somewhere in the middle of it all, Giordano-Capossere decided to contact the producers of one of her favorite wedding-themed shows, “Say Yes to the Dress,” her husband and sister said.
“We didn’t think they’d really pick us,” Capossere said. “But she sent in the letter, explaining her story.” Giordano-Capossere was giddy when she was picked and called up her mom, sister and best girlfriends so they could find a dress worthy of a resounding “Yes!”.
In July, armed with the dress, the couple exchanged vows in Vegas and began their journey as husband and wife.
“Not beating the cancer was never an option for her,” Capossere said, of his wife. “Even at the end, when we all knew it was the end, she was making plans for the future.”
Meghan Elizabeth Giordano-Capossere, of Atlanta, died March 22 at Emory University Hospital Midtown from complications of small cell cervical cancer. She was 29. A private memorial service is planned for Sunday. Georgia Cremation Society was in charge of arrangements.
Giordano-Capossere grew up in Morrow and enjoyed a brief career as a barber. A 2010 graduate of the former Roffler Hairstyling College in Marietta, Giordano-Capossere was adamant that people understood she was a barber, not a hairstylist, her husband said.
“She wanted to be able to use a straight razor,” Capossere said, of his wife. “I was the guinea pig,” he added with a light laugh. “But it was a lot of fun.”
Capossere said his wife lived her life to the fullest, even though the end came sooner than later. Her sister said Giordano-Capossere brought constant joy into the lives of her family and friends.
“The way she handled the cancer was amazing to us all,” Giordano said. “She gave us strength.”
In addition to her husband and sister, Giordano-Capossere is survived by her parents, William and Valerie Giordano of McDonough; brother, Lee Giordano of Atlanta; sister, Kait Giordano of Atlanta; and maternal and paternal grandmothers.
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