My Perfect Christmas Gift

I am daddy’s girl in every sense of the word. Since I was a little girl my dad has been my hero, the person I look up to the most, my biggest cheerleader, my confidant and my best friend. Growing up we would go to wrestling matches together with my brother, he didn’t miss a single one of my swim meets, he was the person I went to for advice, even when I didn’t want to take it. As an adult he became my best friend, or as he likes to say, his soul mate. For as long as I can remember I have dreamed of the day that my dad gets to walk me down the aisle. I think most girls dream of this moment, but not all of us get to have it. 

A few months ago my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, what they say is the worst cancer of all, and to make matters worse we also found out that his cancer has spread. In the blink of an eye so much changed. I always believed my dad was invincible, you could even call me naive, but I thought he would be around forever. However, in one conversation all that changed. In the midst of it all one thought kept coming to mind “my dad won’t be able to walk me down the aisle”.  I know how selfish that can sound, but you see I am single, really single and although we are hopeful that with treatment dad will be with us for many many years, the future is unknown, and the thought of not having that moment with him truly breaks my heart. 

However I wasn’t going to let a silly detail as me being single stop me from creating that memory with my dad. I have always believed that life is what we make of it, and when confronted with such devastating news, we can either wallow in them or make the most of the time that we have. And that is exactly what I plan on doing. I plan on enjoying every single second I have with my dad, even the bad ones, because when he is gone, and only God knows when that will be, I can look back and remember the amazing memories we created every step of the way.

For the last few weeks my dad kept asking me what I wanted for Christmas, and it finally came to me. All I wanted was for him to walk me down the aisle, and thats exactly what he did. Some might think this is silly, over the top, or a little weird, but I will treasure this moment for ever. We laughed so much, even made fun of the fact that there was no groom in sight and took some pictures where we can photoshop my future groom in! Because that is my dad, even in the hardest of times, making sure he enjoys the moment. These are priceless memories that I will always treasure, and hey, dad might even get to actually walk me down the aisle one day, but if he doesn’t I can say he already did. 

I hope you enjoy my perfect Christmas gift, I know I will!

A very special thank you to Justin Alexander for my wedding dress, from the moment I told them my idea they said absolutely and I honestly felt like the most gorgeous bride. And thank you to Nuva Photography for capturing what might just be the images I will most treasure in life!