A terminally-ill woman who could ‘die any day’ has literally had her fairytale wedding after over 200 guests dressed as characters – from Alice in Wonderland.
Paula Brennan, 42, (above, centre) dressed as the Queen of Hearts, while hubby Ky wore a Mad Hatter costume when the pair wed in Tavistock, Devon.
The couple decked their local town hall out to resemble the bizarre set of the cult film and the 200 guests came in costume.
Even the reverend who conducted the ceremony got into the swing of things – by dressing as a caterpillar.
Paula suffers from Polycythemia – a terminal condition which causes her blood to thicken, triggering in inoperable tumours in her lungs and womb.
The couple came up with the idea for a themed wedding after doctors last month told her she could die any day.
Paula said: ”I may not have a huge amount of time left so wanted to do something out of the ordinary.
”And that’s what we did. It was incredible to see everyone dressed up and was quite emotional.
”It was by far and away the happiest day of my life – not many woman can say they’ve had their dreams of a fairytale wedding fulfilled.”
Paula followed the ceremony with a tea party with oversized cups, saucers and tea pot and an array of exquisitely decorated cakes.
Guests included the White Rabbit, dormouse and tweedledum and tweedledee and Paula’s daughters Kayleigh, 25, and Tanneth, 22, dressed as the Cheshire Cat and, of course, Alice.
Paula was diagnosed with Polycythemia in November after a few years of minor health problems. The disease is fatal and her life expectancy is unknown.
Polycythemia, an extremely rare condition, is an increase in the number of red blood cells and can cause heart failure, haemorrrhage, and thrombosis.
After discovering the illness doctors rushed Paula to hospital, where she endured having 12 pints of blood drained over a week and can be bed-bound for days on end.
She added: ”Then they discovered that is had caused tumours to grown in the main organs and it is also affecting my heart as well.
”There isn’t a cure. I could die any day really, I am at the end of the disease.
”But I am not unhappy. This is the happiest I have ever been and now I can say I had the best wedding ever.”
This is an inspiring story. An ordinary woman wishing a fairytale wedding. I say that there’s nothing wrong with what theme you want for a wedding. Kudos to this woman. Great article.