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Woman holds preview wedding for grandmother
FOX 13's Jordan Bowen tells the story of how a soon-to-bride hosted a preview wedding for her sick grandmother, who had been diagnosed with cancer and ultimately died before her wedding day.
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. - A Brooksville bride wasn't sure if her grandmother, whose cancer had just returned, would make it to see her get married. Her grandmother was placed in hospice and given weeks to live – but her wedding day was still four months away.
Gianna Huber and her 77-year-old grandmother, Joann Huber, shared a special bond.
"She was also incredibly loving and caring and supportive, just really like she was the rock of our family. She kept everyone close together," Gianna said of her grandmother.
Pictured: Gianna Huber with her grandmother, Joann.
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She said her grandmother was ecstatic when she got the news last December that she was engaged.
"I sent her a picture of my ring, and she was just immediately like, ‘OMG, like Gianna, is this real?’ She was just so excited and so happy for me," Gianna said.
But months later, Joann's cancer returned, and she was placed in hospice in August and only given just a few weeks to live. With Gianna's wedding still four months away, her family decided to bring the special day to her.
"We all snuck in the house, so she didn't see us. We all got ready. And then, my dad started playing music on his speaker. And then we all just started walking down," Gianna said.
Courtesy: Gianna Huber.
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One by one, family members, including Gianna's sister and bridesmaid, along with her flower girls and the bride herself in her wedding dress with her dad on her arm all walked down the aisle, giving her grandmother a front row seat.
"She immediately she just like put her hands on her face, and we're just like. And then, like, started crying just because she was so happy in that moment. And we really were, too," Gianna said.
Gianna's grandmother passed away just two weeks after that special day.
"It was definitely like I felt some sort of relief knowing that I did that and that she wasn't missing out," Gianna said. "Like, it almost felt like she wasn't missing my wedding, that she had actually just got to see it sooner before everybody else."
When the big day finally came, Gianna wore two rings her grandmother gave her before she died. Gianna posted the video of the ceremony to TikTok in December, which has since gone viral with nearly one million views on the platform.
"I know that her, like, up there seeing all this attention she's getting, all the love. I just know that it's so amazing for her, and it just makes me proud knowing that we got to do this for her," Gianna said.
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