Many little girls dream about their wedding day for a long time — and they think about more than just the day itself.
Brides-to-be imagine going dress shopping, picking out flowers, going food-tasting, and more.
Lexi Verge always dreamt of going gown shopping with her mom, but when her mom was hospitalized for cancer treatment, she knew it might not happen.
Lexi is a long way from her wedding day — she's only 19 — but she wasn't willing to give up on her dream of wedding shopping with her mom.
Like the couple who planned a hospital room wedding, Lexi decided to do something special, and create a version of that cherished mother-daughter experience in the hospital.
Lexi went to a bridal salon with her father and grandmother, and picked out a gorgeous white dress.
Then she went to the hospital, put on the dress, and walked into her mom's hospital room. Needless to say, her mom was very surprised.
Photographer Mason Neufeld caught the moment on camera, and the family shared the touching moment on Facebook.
Lexi Verge's sweet surprise for her mom made a huge impact online.
The photos, by Mason Neufeld Photography, were shared by Love What Matters, were thousands responded to the powerful images.
The post got more than 15,000 reactions, and nearly 1,200 shares online.
Lexi writes:
As people often say, ‘cancer cannot cripple love.’ That is such a true statement and our family has experienced that first hand. As you all know, this past year has been very emotional and difficult. As mom’s body has grown weak over the past months, the love between our family has only grown stronger.
Since I was a little girl I always dreamt of going wedding dress shopping with my mom to find the perfect dress for one of the most special days of my life.
As mom's health began to deteriorate slowly over the year, wedding dress shopping occupied my mind more than ever. I couldn't imagine ever looking for the perfect dress without mom right next to me.
A few months ago after mom decided to discontinue chemotherapy treatment, she had a horrendously sick night at home. Although we didn’t actually need a reminder, it did remind us of how quickly her health could take a turn for the worst. Mom and I sat at the kitchen table the next morning and held each other while tears streamed down our cheeks as we talked about how we could never imagine living without one another. We began talking about things we still wanted to do together. That’s when I mentioned going wedding dress shopping early with mom to find the dress that I would wear on my wedding day years down the road (I’m only 19).
It was an emotional few minutes but mom agreed that it was exactly what we should do. Not long after we had that talk, mom landed back in the hospital. With hopes of her getting stronger in the weeks to come, we didn't discuss dress shopping for the first month of her being in the hospital. As our family of 4 sat in mom's hospital room all day and night by mom's side, we could clearly see her tiny body getting weaker and weaker.
Just last week, Dad and I decided that now was the time to start making plans to make this dream of mine and mom’s come to life. Dad and I stopped in to Devotion Bridal Lounge in Prince Albert on Friday, July 14th.
Tammy, the store owner welcomed us kindly and asked what she could do for us. Dad and I explained our situation and told her our plans of wanting to bring mom to her store from the hospital to be with me while I tried on wedding dresses. Tammy was more than happy to help us, she wanted to make the experience extra special for our family. She offered us a private after-hours appointment so we could have the store all to ourselves.
The following day (Saturday), we began making plans to take mom down to Devotion Bridal Lounge on a day pass from the hospital on Sunday.
I reached out to Mason Neufeld Photography to see if she would be able to capture the moment. Mason said she would absolutely love to be there!
My dad, grandma and I went to Devotion Bridal Lounge on Saturday to try on wedding dresses and pick out some of my favourite ones to show mom the next day. Plans were all made by Saturday afternoon. Throughout the remainder of the day on Saturday, mom’s health began to decline. She felt very sick and weak. Saturday night, we all realized that mom’s body just wasn’t going to allow her to make it to the store the next day.
As reality set in that night, we all sat on mom's hospital bed in tears trying to accept the idea that mom and I would no longer be able to share that moment together. I contacted both Tammy and Mason and explained that mom had become too sick to follow through with our plans and that we would have to cancel.
Mason and Tammy communicated with one another late Saturday night and put their whole hearts into making this moment happen.
They decided that they would do whatever they needed to do in order for it to all work out. They went way over and above and decided to bring all of my favourite dresses up to mom's hospital room to try on with her.
Sunday afternoon, Mason, Tammy, and Tammy’s helper Anika arrived at the hospital with the dresses, veils, etc. Mason captured every single emotion and moment in our hospital room that day.
The photographs she took brought us to tears and left us speechless. These photographs mean more than words could ever describe and we will forever be grateful for the kindness and generosity that Tammy, Anika, and Mason showed us this past weekend.
This moment meant more to our family than I can express. Without their kindness, my mom and I would not have been able to share this moment together. I will cherish these photos and the dress that mom and I chose, for the rest of my life.
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