An Alberta woman said “I do” to the man of her dreams Saturday afternoon just weeks after a group of complete strangers came together to make the wedding a reality following a devastating diagnosis.
Laurie Dirsa and Dean Elkow, both in their 40s, exchanged vows in front of family and friends in a ceremony in Edmonton.
“It’s beautiful. It’s so amazing. It’s more than I could have ever, ever dreamed of,” Dirsa said. “I am so ever grateful. My parents, Dean’s parents, our families that have come together on short notice. You know, so many things have gone on in our province in the last month-and-a-half and yet people still rallied behind us.
“Today I get to marry my best friend.”
Dirsa and Elkow, who live in Vegreville, got engaged in October. They were originally set to be married in August 2017, but in January the couple received some devastating news: Dirsa was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer.
The couple wanted to get married before Dirsa went in for surgery, so the timeline for the nuptials was sped up. Thanks to the help of several generous strangers, the May 21st ceremony was organized in just six weeks.
Everything from the flowers and photography to the decorations and cake was donated to the couple.
“We couldn’t have done it without the support behind us and we are so, so grateful,” the bride said just minutes before walking down the aisle.
“Dean and I have done a lot of reflecting and gone, ‘why us?’ And I guess it’s not the, ‘why us?’ It’s the, ‘thank you for choosing us. Thank you for supporting us.’ And through the journey it’s made me appreciate the small things in life. And I maybe live life a little differently now.”
READ MORE: Strangers make dream wedding reality for Alberta woman battling cancer
Dirsa said the kindness of others inspired her and her new husband, which helped them choose a bit of a theme for the wedding.
“A Tim McGraw musical theme,” she explained. “His new song Humble and Kind, that really rings home and rings true to us and we need to be positive and we need to be humble and kind and true to others the way we want to be treated. I want to be humble and kind.”
It wasn’t the only theme, though. Dirsa and Elkow are die hard Oilers fans, so their wedding colours were orange and blue.
While she joked that Elkow has been a bit of a “groomzilla” over the past few weeks,worried and nervous about things like the weather,Dirsa said she couldn’t have made it this far without him.
“It would have been easy for him to walk away. I even gave him that opportunity and he’s never wavered. He’s been to every doctor’s appointment. He was there when the radiation turned very bad for me,” she said. “And he didn’t leave my side.”
“Just knowing that he’s there is, it’s that rock. I know my mom and dad are there unconditionally but to know that other person is there unconditionally, that’s pretty huge.”
Dirsa was originally scheduled to have a tumour in her colon removed in June but the operation has been pushed up to this week. The couple hopes to celebrate their one-year anniversary, and Dirsa being cancer-free, with a party – inviting everyone who helped make their wedding a reality.
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