A dying father who knows he won’t be around for his daughter’s wedding was surprised by a photographer who arranged an elaborate wedding setup so that he can walk his daughter down the aisle before he dies. 62-year-old Jim Zetz is a terminally ill stage IV Pancreatic Cancer patient. Zetz, who has been given only months to live, knows that his dream of walking his daughter Josie, now 11 years old down the aisle would be impossible.
However, Lindsay Villatoro of Love Song Events & Photography , a photography firm that specializes in wedding and family photography planned and helped the family of Jim celebrate the occasion of his daughters wedding now. The idea was to let Jim enjoy his daughter’s wedding ceremony and get to walk with her down the aisle – a future event that would be certainly missed by Jim who will not survive until Josie actually is old enough to get married.
Lindsay was initially hired by the family of Zetz to capture one last family photo session with his wife and daughter. It was during the session that Jim’s daughter informed that she was terribly upset about the fact that her dad would miss all the important bits of her life. All the memories down the lane, as she put it would be without her father Jim who has only a few months left.
It was then that Villatoro decided to do something for the family. According to the Bridal Guide , she reached out to her local vendors and partners in order to organize a special ceremony for the family where Jim would be able to walk his daughter down the aisle – as he would have done it when Josie grew up. It took 72 hours for Villatoro to set everything up – a setup which included a wedding dress, tuxedo, cake, catering, flowers, and even hair and makeup for Josie.
Josie, who later described the day as the best day of her life added that she was very excited to have these moments.
‘”One day [you] wake up and realize you’re given the opportunity to change someone’s life for the better. ‘You get an idea, don’t think twice and run with it,” Villatoro wrote on her Facebook account. In a subsequent post she has revealed that she has received many similar requests from terminally ill patients who wish to have a few beautiful moments captured with their families.
What do you think of this sweet idea by Villatoro? Did that video make you cry?
[Image by Lindsay Villatoro]