College sweethearts Anthony and Aly Femia wanted a long engagement, but their plans changed so the bride's terminally ill mother could see them tie the knot.
Just over a week ago, Aly's mother Mary Quinn found out she had lung cancer that spread to her brain, Buzzfeed reported. Doctors told her the cancer was incurable and she had a short time left to live.
When Aly asked the doctors when she should have her wedding so her mother could be there, they responded, "tomorrow."
Anthony proposed to Aly during a weekend getaway on December 14, 2012 and the Connecticut couple wasn't planning on tying the knot until September 2015, according to Buzzfeed. But after hearing the doctor's diagnosis, the couple decided to get married right away.
They got their marriage certificate from New Haven City Hall that day and the planning, which was orginally projected to take over a year, was completed in under 24 hours with the help of staff at Yale-New Haven Hospital where Aly's mom is staying.
"The hospital was incredible. They made my wedding possible," Aly said.
The stafff took her dress shopping, donated food, flowers and the cake. Some of them even bought her a bracelet as her "something new" and a social worker also brought Aly her grandmother's hankerchief to be her "something old" at the ceremony.
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"Today is incredibly bittersweet as I marry the love of my life at the hospital with my mom," Aly wrote in a Facebook post on January 29.
The hallways were filled with doctors and nurses as Aly's stepdad walked her down the aisle and the hospital chaplain performed the ceremony (Aly's biological father died of metastatic lung cancer 16 years ago).
"My favorite part of the day was having my mom see me in my wedding dress, wearing a string of her pearls and seeing her smile," Aly said. "I'm so glad that she was there to watch me say 'I do' and see me marry my best friend."
