Lolaycia Lewis is not just any bride.
"I'm ready to jump this broom," she said. "I've been ready for a while now."
She is the youngest daughter of Timothy and Teila Lewis, and what the smiles and the expectation and the beautiful ceremony don't tell you is that this wedding is in a hospital chapel.
"To have this energy to be able to walk my daughter down the aisle is very, very special to me," Timothy Lewis said.
The bride's father is on a heart transplant list. A week ago, he was admitted to Methodist Hospital.
That is why his daughter and her fiance, Melmiah Walker, changed their March wedding plans and put this ceremony together in seven days.
"She insisted I be a part of this wedding," Timothy Lewis said.
"I wanted to make sure my dad was going to be at my wedding," the bride said. "I have all of the optimism in the world, all of the faith; but I wanted to make sure my dad was able to walk me down the aisle."
"We wanted to show that we love him and we wanted him to be there to witness our engagement and to be one," Walker said.
They quickly found a pastor.
"It was a special occasion, and the only thing I could think of was what a good Christmas gift this would be to the family," said Pastor Erick Hoskin of Word of God Christian Fellowship Church.
On Saturday afternoon, just past 2pm, Timothy Lewis walked his daughter down the aisle.
The smiles gave way to tears of joy from the father, the daughter and everyone in attendance at a ceremony to celebrate a love bonded not just between a man and his wife, but also a father and his daughter.
The bride said she has faith her father will receive the transplant he needs, but this was a gift she couldn't wait to give and receive.
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