A bride-to-be is desperate to get married as soon as possible so her terminally ill dad can give her away - having initially put her big day on hold due to the pandemic.
Mum-of-four Cat Ward, 28, and fiance Tim Williams, 33, were all set to marry last Wednesday but postponed tying the knot for a year with heavy restrictions in place on events.
But tragedy struck earlier this month when dad Ron Ward, 80, was diagnosed with leukaemia and given just six to 12 months, even if he responds to treatment.
To give her dad the best possible chance of walking her down the aisle, Cat has managed to rearrange the wedding to January 6 at St Michael's Church, Stone, reports StokeonTrentLive.
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But with furloughed HGV driver Tim having now been made redundant by Eddie Stobart in a "real kick in the teeth", the couple are struggling to meet the new costs.
As a result, their families have launched a GoFundMe page to help them afford their dream day, which will also include a reception at the Upper House, in Barlaston.
Cat, from Barlaston, North Staffs, said: "Originally we were happy for our wedding to be pushed back a year because we have a big family and wanted everyone there.
"We could never have imagined that my dad would be so ill. The earliest date that both venues have free is January 6 so we're just hoping that dad responds to treatment. He has six, maybe 12 months at most.
"It would mean everything to have my dad walk me down the aisle and it means the world to him. I think it's every little girl's dream.
"I'm such a daddy's girl and we have always been very close.
"When he is no longer here it would mean a lot if I can have that memory of him being there on the biggest day of my life."
Ron, who lives in Fair Oak, near Eccleshall, with wife Joy, already suffered from a heart condition and dementia, but his health further deteriorated during lockdown.
His daughter said he's usually "so fit" and is often "pottering around the garden" but put off seeing his doctor due to the pandemic.
"He got an appointment and he was rushed off for tests," his daughter said.
"It was still such a shock to be told he had leukaemia. We've been told it will be a matter of weeks if he doesn't respond to the chemotherapy.
"What makes it harder is that I've barely seen my parents through lockdown and we'd just started seeing him again," she added.
Cat and Tim met 10 years ago on Facebook and now have four daughters - Poppy, four, Daisy, three, Holly, two and Rosie, one.
Cat admitted she "nearly gave up" when Tim - a student at Staffordshire University at the time - failed to show up on time for their first date but he rang her and "begged me to stay".
After moving in together they began to try for a family but three miscarriages in five years left them fearing it wasn't meant to be before they had four daughters "in quick succession".
After Daisy was born, Tim told Cat he was going to the shop with Poppy and when he came back, he asked if she could change her because she had spaghetti down her top.
"I pulled up her top and that's when underneath I saw she was wearing a vest saying 'Mummy, will you marry my Daddy?'. It was just lovely," Cat remembered.
The GoFundMe page has a target of £2,000 with any extra donations going to Macmillan Cancer Support and the Royal Stoke University Hospital's cancer centre.
Tim, who is currently looking for a new job, said to have Ron walk Cat down the aisle "would mean everything to us both".
Ron had been in remission for cancer when he received the bombshell diagnosis.
The proud dad said: "To be able to walk her down the aisle would be a dream come true. If I feel how I do now then I should be able to manage it."
