A mum has been left heartbroken after her cancer-stricken husband died just two days after they got married.
Kirsty Howarth, 27, said her youngest child only really understands that "daddy’s in heaven now" after her partner Gavin Howarth, 30, died in early May.
Mr Howarth, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, was given just two months to live on Easter Sunday in April after he was found to have a lymphoma and tumours in his liver, kidneys and brain.
Mrs Howarth told the Manchester Evening News: "I’ve been finding it quite hard but my kids have got me through. I have to keep going for them.
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"My eldest is up and down, sometimes he says he misses his daddy. The youngest doesn’t know too much of what’s going on but he just knows that daddy’s in heaven now."
The Howarths had a three-year-old son, Lucian, and Mr Howarth was stepdad to his wife's older son, Bryce, who is seven.
After the shock diagnosis, Mr Howarth's condition took a turn for the worse on April 30 and the couple got married in their front room that evening.
The dad died less than 48 hours later.
Mrs Howarth's mum, Sandra Whittaker, said: "They were a really special couple.
"Gavin was a great man, smiling all the time - he had a heart of gold. He was a great dad, boyfriend and husband and a fantastic stepdad to Bryce - he knew his favourite superhero was Superman, so he went to pick him up from school one time all dressed up and took him to McDonald's.
"That’s the kind of person he was."
The pair had discussed tying the knot before the diagnosis.
But they were waiting to make sure they had enough money for a dream wedding.
Mr Howarth was diagnosed after he suffered shortness of breath and severe back pain for weeks.
It was thought that his symptoms were due to asthma and lifting involved in his work as a carpet fitter.
The pain became so bad that he left his job and started working at a fish and chip shop last October.
He saw a GP in March and he underwent tests to determine whether he had tuberculosis, a bacterial infection he had as a child and resulted in one of his lungs being removed.
Doctors discovered a lymphoma and tumours in his liver, kidneys and brain.
After being given the terminal diagnosis, the couple decided to get married on May 6 in the garden of their home in Kirkholt. However, the pair had to get married inside their home due to Mr Howarth's worsening condition.
Friends, neighbours and businesses had donated items for an outdoor ceremony and reception.
Ms Whittaker said: "I had a group of about 10 or 12 friends who I thought could help and asked them to spread the word. We were just overwhelmed by what people gave us - some gave us some white drapes or some artificial flowers to make the place look beautiful, people offered us a balloon arch and some pretty white fairy lights.
“My brother-in-law, James Oldham, spent three days doing up the garden, cleaning up all the stone work, planting flowers and making it nice for them.
"Even though it didn’t end up happening in the garden, we still had people offering to come and do hair and make up and other nice things.”
One Shop Weddings donated £1,000 worth of wedding supplies and Morrisons gave party food for the reception.
Ms Whittaker added: "Some people have donated money, people they don’t even know. I had no idea people could be so lovely - we only asked for a few items but to think of what we got, I just can’t say thank you enough."
Mrs Howarth was told to bring the wedding forward after a visit from nurses.
Two registrars came to their home that evening despite the coronavirus lockdown and the couple was married at 6pm with their two boys, Ms Whittaker, Mr Howarth's mum Mandy present.
Mr Howarth's brother Lee and sister Gina, and Mrs Howarth's dad Karl watched from the garden.
Mrs Howarth cared for her husband during his final days and had to administer several painkillers to help him deal with the constant pain he was in.
Ms Whittaker said: "She rang me a few times saying 'Mum, I don’t think I can do this', but she’s a brave girl and much stronger than she realises."
She also paid tribute to nurses from Springhill Hospice who visited couple’s home to help Kirsty and Gavin during his final weeks.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, only a small number of family members were present as Mr Howarth's funeral took place on Friday.
His funeral cortege passed by the chip shop where he worked and his former colleagues stood outside to pay their respects.
