Nicole Decker didn't plan to get married in a hospital -- but with the last-minute help of family and hospital staff, she was able to say "I Do" in front of her terminally ill mother, four days before her mom died.
Mother of the bride, 58-year-old Delores Vastenhout, had been battling cancer since 2011. Just before Christmas, her health took a turn for the worse and it became clear that she wouldn't make it to her daughter's destination wedding on January 11, local news station KSFY reports.
"We thought we had time, we thought we had maybe two years and this week she became very sick," Christy Menning, the bride's sister and maid of honor, told KSFY.
Knowing it was her mother's dying wish to see her marry the love of her life, Nicole changed her plans and tied the knot on Monday, December 23 at Avera McKennan Hospital in South Dakota.
"It might not have been perfect. It might not have been what anyone had planned for, but it was beautiful" Menning said. "We had everything we needed and it didn't matter as long as we could just have a wedding."
Four days after the nuptials, Vastenhout lost her battle with cancer and died.
"I think that my sister is very happy that my mom got to be at her wedding, and I think that my mom will forever smile to know that her last minutes and days were so precious," Menning said.
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