Honeymoon fundraiser for terminally ill bride who tied the knot today

Tens of friends and family gathered at the registry office to see Maltby couple Alison (61) and Steve Nicholls (65) exchange vows.

But as well as planning for a wedding, Alison has paid for her funeral in advance after being diagnosed with terminal peritoneal cancer in June.

Daughter Hayley Preece (36) said money was tight, despite the wedding being a low-key affair, and so set up an online fundraiser to raise money for their honeymoon.

Hayley said: “They are planning on going on a road-trip around Scotland and so I just wanted to raise money to help keep them enjoying their honeymoon for as long as possible.

“I don’t want them to have to worry about money while they’re away, my mum doesn’t have a pension so I just thought this would help.”

Mother-of-one Hayley said she was heartened and surprised after more than £500 was donated in a week by people she had not seen for years. 

At today’s ceremony, Alison wore a pale pink dress and was accompanied down the aisle by granddaughter and bridesmaid Milla (6), while grandson Dylan (3) was Steve’s best man.

The couple pictured with Hayley and Dylan.

Alison and retired quarry worker Steve (pictured below with Dylan in hospital) met while they were living on the same street in Maltby in 1999 and moved in together two years later.

The couple were heading into their retirement years when Alison was given the devastating news. After one bout of chemotherapy, she was told treatment was no longer an option.

Alison said: “We decided to get married while I was in hospital, the palliative nurse said to me; ‘Whatever you want to do, you should do it quite quickly’.

“And we both said to each other; ‘Shall we get married?’.

“We had talked about it ever since we met, but we never got round to it as something else always seemed to take precedent.

“It wasn’t important to us, but now things are not looking too positive for the future it’s quite important to us now.”

The grandmother-of-three said planning the wedding had given her a huge boost, addding: “I felt quite empowered sorting all the wedding plans out — we’ve done it all in two weeks.

Former NHS secretary Alison, who became a full-time carer for her 91-year-old mother in February, said she had been determined the wedding wouldn’t be a “morbid affair.

Alison said she was touched by Hayley’s fundraising appeal and their romantic road-trip with dog Rocky would head “wherever the car takes them”.

To donate visit https://www.gofundme.com/7sfz2-wedding