Aly Femia and her fiance, Anthony, were in the middle of planning their dream wedding for September 2015 when their family received truly tragic news: the bride's mother__, Mary Quinn__, was suffering from an incurable lung cancer that had spread to her brain.
When Aly asked doctors when would be the best time to hold the wedding so that her mom would still be able to attend, they said "tomorrow." So that's exactly what she did!
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Aly, Anthony, their families and the hospital staff teamed up and got to work planning an entire wedding in just 24 hours. Everyone contributed a little something. One of the doctors took Aly dress shopping and some of the staff bought her a bracelet for her something new. Another employee lent her her grandmother's handkerchief for her something "old." While the couple worked on securing their marriage license, the hospital donated food, flowers, and a wedding cake. And amazingly, between all of them, they managed to pull it off!
Aly's stepfather walked her down the aisle and a hospital chaplain performed the ceremony right in Mary's hospital room, so that she could be front and center while watching her daughter get married. It was one of the final, special memories they shared together as sadly, Mary lost her battle to cancer on February 3rd, just days after the wedding.
"I'm so glad that she was there to watch me say 'I do' and see me marry my best friend," Aly told BuzzFeed. "I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day."
I couldn't help but tear up hearing of this story. Losing a parent is absolutely heartbreaking and I can't imagine what it must have been like for this family to receive this horrible news, seemingly out of the blue and while in the midst of what should've been a happy time. Still, it's amazing that mother and daughter were able to celebrate this beautiful occasion together and that so many incredible people were willing to help make it happen. That's definitely a memory that Aly and her entire family will cherish for the rest of their lives!
Image via Aly Femia/Facebook
