A groom who has just days to live married his love in a romantic ceremony organised in just 24 hours thanks to the kind donations of strangers.
Ray Kershaw, 63, and Tracy Brooks, 45, had hoped to tie the knot in Tenerife next year but ended up having a last minute ceremony on Saturday after Ray was diagnosed with terminal cancer in March.
Within hours of publishing an appeal, strangers and businesses had offered to pay for wedding cars, flowers, venue dressing, a cake and everything else required for the event.
Ray, who has cancer of the duodenum, has just days left to live and is currently being cared for at Springhill Hospice in Rochdale.
But thanks to the generosity of strangers and the charity Gift of a Wedding, the couple, who both live in Shawclough, Rochdale, were able to get married.
Wedding organisers put out a call for donations for a ceremony originally scheduled to go ahead on June 2.
But as Ray’s condition started to deteriorate, the wedding was brought forward to Saturday, giving the families and Gift of a Wedding less than 24 hours to organise their big day.
Ray and Tracy tied the knot at a moving ceremony attended by close relatives, friends and nursing staff at the hospice on Saturday afternoon.
Tracy’s niece and bridesmaid, Melissa King, said the couple had been overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity.
Melissa said: "All Ray and Tracy knew was the cancer was terminal so all they wanted was to get married.
"What Gift of a Wedding did was incredible. They were up all hours the night before the wedding to make sure it happened.
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