INSIDE EDITION - A 12-year-old dog that brought her owners together stood in as the maid of honor at their wedding, which was planned at the last-minute after the beloved canine's owner was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Nicole Wakefield, 56, was found to have bowel cancer less than a month ago. After receiving the bad news, she and her now husband, Arfron Williams, 61, didn’t want to wait any longer to get married.
“I went to the hospital last Monday and they told me I had to start chemo. It was by chance that I said I was hoping to be able to get married and they offered to set it up," Wakefield told InsideEdition.com. "We talked in the past about getting married but we hadn't gotten around to it. I was like, 'I don’t want to get married after that because I am going to lose my hair.'"
Nicole and Arfon met 10 years ago while walking their dogs. So it seemed only right that Nicole's dog, Mili, would sit by the bride's side on her special day, March 10.
"It was at our house in front of the fireplace. It was magical," Nicole said. "It was amazing to turn such horrible news into a beautiful day. Mili’s part of the family. She really brought us together, and we didn’t want her to miss out on the wedding.”
Mili donned a cute, yellow carnation around her neck in honor of the affair.
"I don’t know if she was too fond of it,” Nicole said laughingly. "She was watching really intently while we were signing the marriage register. She’s quite a calm dog, and I think she could feel the nice feeling on the day. It was the happiest day of my life. Things can still be good in the midst of horrible things."
Nicole said having Mili there in the future will be nice too.
"It’s an amazing feeling. And knowing that the dog is there for a cuddle too when things are hard is great," she said.