Warning: You’ll need a box of Kleenex to read this sweet story.
A California dad decided to help plan a mock wedding for his 11-year-old daughter, because he won’t be there for the real thing.
Jim Metz, 62, is suffering from pancreatic cancer, but that didn’t stop him from walking Josie down the aisle so she could experience what it might be like when she’s of age.
The beautiful ceremony came to be after Metz and his wife Grace hired Lindsey Villatoro, a mother, photographer and founder of Love Song Photography, to take pictures to document the Metz’s experience with cancer. Two years ago, Villatoro began offering photography sessions for terminal clients or clients with serious illnesses to document their journeys.
“I try to really showcase the person for who they are and not the illness,” she told The Huffington Post during a phone conversation Tuesday afternoon.
Villatoro went to Jim and Grace’s home for a shoot and offered to do one with their young daughter, Josie. After she left, she posted about the family on her website to get gift donations for the girl to help make her last birthday with her father a memorable one. But she decided to take the surprise one step further and dreamed up the idea of a wedding for the girl — complete with flowers, desserts, a promise ring and a dress from L.A. Fashion Week — so that her father could walk her down the aisle.
“I met Josie [the day of the wedding],” Villatoro said. “She was a little bit overwhelmed when her mom picked her up from school and told her. She just needed a moment. Later, she said, ‘This is the best day of my life.’ She was very glad and excited to have these moments.”
Villatoro captured the tear-jerking ceremony on camera and created a video titled “Walk Me Down The Aisle Daddy.” You can watch it below:
She told the Huffington Post:
“They want to get his story out, to let people know Jim and to feel a part of his family. There is going to come a day very soon when he’s not here. So for everyone to see those moments inside their family and connect with them is a really big thing for them. They feel very blessed … The goal when I do these things is to preserve that person. Most people focus on the death and not the beauty of that person, who they were and the memories that they leave.”
To see the rest of the beautiful pictures from Josie’s mock wedding, click here.
SOURCE: Huffington Post | PHOTO CREDIT: Lindsey Villatoro
