Scott Doucette didn鈥檛 know what was happening when his fianc茅e, Taryn Vanderhout, phoned him screaming and then suddenly disconnected the line.

But he knew it was good.

鈥淪he called me and I couldn鈥檛 understand her,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he couldn鈥檛 even tell me.鈥�

What Vanderhout was trying to say was that the couple had just won a $10,000 dream wedding.

鈥淭hey phoned me and told me I won, I didn鈥檛 believe them,鈥� Vanderhout said. 鈥淢y boss pinched me, I was screaming and ecstatic. I said, 鈥榶ou鈥檝e got to be joking me.鈥欌��

They weren鈥檛.

Vanderhout鈥檚 was the lucky ballot drawn from the Head Over Heels Wedding Fair at the 91原创 Golf and Banquet Centre last May. The prize ensured that a venue, decor, entertainment and much more would be financially covered when the couple tied the knot 鈥� a far cry from the City Hall wedding she and Doucette had been planning. The penniless couple were still working on rebuilding their lives after years of drug addiction and living homeless on the streets of Surrey and 91原创.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like it鈥檚 meant to be,鈥� Vanderhout said.

The couple first met as neighbours 11 years ago. Both addicted to drugs, their relationship had 鈥渁 rocky start.鈥�

鈥淚 call it the road of hell,鈥� Vanderhout said.

鈥淓verybody has their downturns in life, and it actually makes you a strong person in my eyes,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t gives you a lot more strength and a lot more courage because these are the things most people don鈥檛 battle. Living on the streets really prepares you for the worst. Each day you just look at a different way of surviving.鈥�

Vanderhout eventually received help from a women鈥檚 recovery centre. She kept in contact with Doucette the entire six months she was in therapy through letters and phone calls. By the end of the program she was allowed to see him once every two weeks for 15 minutes.

But their relationship was frowned upon by the treatment centre. Doucette, who was trying to quit drugs on his own, was viewed by the centre as direct connection back into addiction.

鈥淲e had stopped trying to do drugs for a year of failure, but we never quit trying to quit,鈥� Doucette said.

That was six years ago. Neither has touched drugs since.

Cutting the connections with all of their old friends, the couple started their lives over. Vanderhout got a job at Dynamic Paint Products in Delta and Doucette at the warehouse next door. They moved into a bachelor suite with no kitchen where 鈥渨e would make grilled cheese on a hot plate,鈥� Doucette remembered.

鈥淚t was like meeting a whole new person when we got back together,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 know each other clean.鈥�

In hindsight they wouldn鈥檛 have had it any other way.

Living marginally taught them that money doesn鈥檛 equal happiness, Vanderhout said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very humbling experience in my eyes, because it taught me to live very broke and to be happy still,鈥� she said.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 panic about money anymore. Most people鈥檚 fears in life are money and money woes. Living (on the street) has taught us that you don鈥檛 always have to have money to be happy.鈥�

The couple were engaged on Vanderhout鈥檚 birthday in November two years ago. They finally told her father last New Year鈥檚 Eve.

He gave them one year to get married. He wanted to walk his daughter down the aisle before he turns 60 in January, 2013.

They began to plan a small civil ceremony for Sept. 15, with a reception at Murrayville Hall.

Vanderhout started going to wedding shows to get ideas for decorations, which she was going to make herself.

At the Eaglequest Wedding Fair she won a draw for a dinner-for-two. She also won their wedding bands.

Then at the Head Over Heels Wedding Fair, she reluctantly entered a draw for a dream wedding.

鈥淢y girlfriend said to me, 鈥榩ut your name in there, put your name in there.鈥�

鈥淚 said 鈥榝orget it, I never win anything,鈥欌�� Vanderhout said.

She was very wrong.

When the couple finally said 鈥業 do鈥� on Oct. 27, nearly everything had been covered: The 91原创 Golf and Banquet centre had provided the venue, service and champagne; Western Tux donated the groom鈥檚 outfit; Lisa Gregory Special Events took care of the planning, cake, decorations and photography; Spin Doctor DJ Services provided music; and Cascades Casino donated a spa package with a one-night stay.

Coincidently, also in the package was a gift certificate for $1,500 to Anca鈥檚 Bridal, the same place Vanderhout bought her wedding dress during the Head Over Heals Wedding Fair. She was able to use the money to buy matching bridesmaid dresses and shoes.

The gifts didn鈥檛 stop there.

Once the couple鈥檚 story was shared, the centre added in an engagement photography package from Erica Hiebert, and surprised them on their wedding day with a special Vancouver package for dinner, shopping, a hotel stay and limousine services.

Overwhelmed by the gifts, the best part for the couple was giving their family a chance to relax. In their original wedding plans, everyone was going to help out. Even Doucette鈥檚 parents were going to do the cooking at the reception.

Instead, the two families were able to celebrate together for the first time. Many of their relatives Doucette and Vanderhout hadn鈥檛 seen for years. During their addiction they lost touch with much of their family, and the wedding brought them back together, Doucette said.

鈥淚 was never shunned from my family, they were always there for me, but I didn鈥檛 want to burden them with my problems,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 was ashamed those times when I would ask my mom to borrow $20 for food, when it wasn鈥檛 really for food. That really bothered me. I never wanted to hurt anyone鈥檚 feelings, I still don鈥檛.鈥�

Among their 53 wedding guests, Doucette had his best friend of 30 years stand beside him as best man. His friend went through addiction with them and left drugs behind two years after they did.

Doucette鈥檚 aunt came all the way from Texas, his brother from Alberta, and his youngest brother, who was six years old the last time Doucette saw him and is now married with two kids, also attended.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what gives you a sense of accomplishment for getting over your bad karma,鈥� he said of his family.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e proud of me.

鈥淚t鈥檚 something I never thought I鈥檇 feel again.鈥�