Bride Plans Wedding in Less Than 30 Minutes After Dad's Cancer Takes Turn for the Worse
For many people, planning a wedding is mostly about “who” is involved. The location is important, the order of ceremonies is important — but the people present, sharing in the couple’s joy, is primary.
When those important people face hardships that make traveling for the event difficult, many brides- and grooms-to-be will change all their plans just so they can still involve those pivotal guests.
For Shelby Schweikhart-Conville, that guest was her father. She and her fiancé Jared were making their plans, but they were suddenly faced with the probability that if they waited to plan their perfect ceremony, her father wouldn’t get to participate because of his cancer.
So they put together a last-minute wedding, with help from friends, family and the hospital. Schweikhart-Conville had her dress, there were witnesses around, they exchanged vows and rings, and her dad got a front-row seat to it all.
“Not the idea I had in mind for a wedding, but Jared and I got married!” Schweikhart-Conville posted with a video of the event on Thursday.
“We received the news less than a month ago, that my dads cancer had came back. And it came back with a vengeance. The cancer had taken over his lungs, and he is not responding to chemo.”
“Knowing we exhausted every hope, we planned a wedding in the ICU in less than 30 min. It was the most beautiful, bittersweet moment of my life.”
“My dad got to see his baby girl get married, and it meant the world to me that he was able to see it.”
Once that was taken care of, and having seen his youngest married, Schweikhart-Conville’s father was ready to go.
“Shortly after the wedding, my dad wanted to stop the life support,” Schweikhart-Conville wrote. “He’s still with us, and if you could continue praying for my family, I would so greatly appreciate it.”
“Special thanks to the nursing staff at St. Vincent ICU, and my friends and family for making this all possible.”
“After finding out her father’s cancer had returned and was spreading quickly, Shelby and her fiance decided their wedding couldn’t wait, so they hosted it at Ascension St. Vincent on December 29, 2019,” Ascension St. Vincent shared on Friday. “Congratulations to the newlyweds!”
Many have commented on Schweikhart-Conville’s original post as well as shares by news outlets, saying that the heartfelt ceremony and the reason behind it had them in tears.
Some even posted and shared photos of their own hospital weddings that had been put together for very similar reasons.
While this newlywed couple is on the brink of loss, they can be assured that their choice to have a hospital wedding meant a lot to someone they loved very much.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
