Terminally ill 5-year-old has her dream “wedding”
A terminally ill five-year-old girl fulfilled her dream to have a fairytale wedding when she “married” her best friend.
Eileidh Paterson made a bucket list when she was diagnosed with terminal neuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer, and said the thing she most wanted to do was marry her best friend Harrison Grier.
Eileidh’s dreams came true when the pair exchanged necklaces and were declared “best friends for ever” in a ceremony that was attended by family, friends and a cast of princesses and superheroes.
Eileidh was pictured beaming as she and Harrison held hands and walked down the aisle together at the end of the ceremony.
Harrison's father Billy said, “Harrison has never been to a wedding before, so this is all new to him, but it was a beautiful ceremony and he enjoyed every minute.”
“He was quite excited to do it. Ever since he met Eileidh, they have been inseparable.”
“I think he knew what was going on. He certainly knew how important it was to her and wanted to do whatever he could for her.”
The ceremony began with a lone piper who led a procession of superheroes and princesses to the alter.
Eileidh was walked down the aisle by her older brother Callum to the song “When You Wish Upon a Star” from Disney film Pinocchio.
Zara Grant who runs children’s entertainment firm Love Rara, then read out Eileidh’s life story in the form of a fairytale.
The story was written by Eileidh’s mother Gail Paterson and referred to neuroblastoma as an evil beast. Gail described her daughter as a “princess who would stop at nothing to survive” while documenting her fight against the aggressive disease.
Eileidh’s sister Cerys then read a poem that concluded with the words “even if we are apart, I will always be with you.”
After the ceremony, Eileidh and Harrison moved to the auditorium next door to start their reception that kicked off with their first dance to Gangnam Style followed by an afternoon of dancing to Disney hits and pop songs.
Her mother explained that Eileidh was not feeling very well on Saturday after having blood transfusions, which raised concerns she might not be able to enjoy her wedding.
“She was just extremely drained, but she was like a different girl during the ceremony.”
“The spectacle of it really perked her up, she was in her absolute element getting to play with other kids and have fun. These are going to be lasting memories.”
Gail has raised more than £120,000 to send Eileidh to America for treatment in 2015 and campaigns to raise awareness of childhood cancer.
Through her Eileidh’s Journey Facebook page, Gail hopes to make others aware of the symptoms of the illness.
Eileidh’s other activities on her bucket list include swimming with mermaids, swimming with dolphins, playing on the beach, visiting a waterpark and seeing snow.
She also dreams to have a bedroom makeover, fly in a plane for a short holiday, ride the London Eye, see Blackpool Illuminations, be a zookeeper for a day, visit Disneyland, and get a slide and swing for her backyard.
Zara Grant, who pulled together the ‘wedding’ event in one month said, “It was amazing to see the community come together so quickly to donate their time and services to the event. I've known Eileidh ever since she was diagnosed and I've wanted to do everything that I can to help out her bucket list. When I saw that this was on her list, I had to find a way to make it happen.”
“This sort of event normally takes much longer to put together so to get everything done within a month was amazing.”
“I know that Eileidh and her family are really drained from the day after they put so much energy into it.”
Donations can be made towards Eileidh's bucket list at www.gofund me.com/eileidhsjourney
Image credit: Kenny Elrick