Cancer sufferer Chris Clark, 41, proposed to his girlfriend Charlotte within minutes of finding out his condition was incurable.
With the help of family and friends, it took just 10 days to organise the wedding they had dreamed about.
Last October Charlotte organised a last minute
wedding to terminally-ill boyfriend Chris Clark. He proposed within
minutes of being diagnosed with incurable stomach cancer
Chris was told he may only have months to live by medics at Warwick Hospital last September after being diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer that had spread.
He had started suffering pains in his
side while on holiday which grew in intensity, and was also feeling
tired and had lost his appetite.
After a series of tests, Chris, a photographer, was diagnosed with secondary cancer in July 2012.
The
couple, from Offchurch near Leamington, Warwickshire, found out it was incurable in September.
Chris, 41, said: 'I already knew I wanted to be married to Charlotte so when they said it was non-curable I knew what I was going to do.
'When I was told the news it was like an explosion, I felt deaf and a bit disorientated. I just got up and walked out as they said I've got to have more tests.'
Chris and Charlotte were sitting in a hospital waiting room five minutes later, in a state of shock, when he turned to her and popped the question.
Then just minutes after, he was in a hospital bed undergoing another round of gruelling tests.
Family and friends were informed of his prognosis before the couple told them their good news.
'Our engagement was always going to happen, it was only a question of when,' added Charlotte, a social worker who met Chris six years ago at a wedding.
After his proposal, Chris broached the idea of having a quick register office ceremony.
But it was not quite what she was hoping for, because for the six months before Chris became ill Charlotte had been planning her dream of a rural church wedding.
She had compiled an online scrapbook
with her wedding wish-list, detailing everything she wanted from the
venue and who would be bridesmaids to the design of her wedding dress.
Charlotte says, 'The whole day was just like the wedding I had dreamed of. We have been together for six years, and have always known we would get married, but had been taking our time.
'Even though Chris hadn't asked me yet I would save links and pictures in a folder on my tablet that I would want in my future wedding.
'When we decided to do a wedding in ten days the preparation I had done was a Godsend, and made things lots easier.
'We were lucky as loads of family and friends have businesses that are involved in weddings in someway.
'Chris's brother has a marquee business, we have a friend who is a photographer and another who is a florist. The wedding more or less planned itself!'
'The whole day was just how I had dreamed.'
Generous friends, family and local
businesses rallied round to make her magical wedding come true in just
10 days, and the pair said 'I do' in a church ceremony at St Gregory's
Church in Offchurch, Warwickshire, on October 6th 2012.
The couple were surrounded by 100 family and friends including Chris's children Connor, 20, Logan, 17, and Sennen, 15, from a previous marriage.
Despite having a week's notice to be at the event, some 300 people shared the couple's big day in October at a neighbouring farm.
Charlotte said: 'It was amazing. It was everything I wanted and more.'
After their wedding, Chris - a freelance photographer who once served in the Navy - started seven bouts of chemotherapy.
The rare cancer he suffers from is a hereditary and he did not know about the risk because he was adopted.
However, he has already defied the statistics as doctors said the average life expectancy from the point of diagnosis was six months.
Charlotte said:'We are all hoping
and praying the cancer hasn't grown. We're trying to live a normal life
and we are very pragmatic about the future.
'We count our blessings every day. We keep thinking it could be ten times worse. Chris is feeling pretty good at the moment so we're making the most of that. He's my inspiration.'
On June 30, Charlotte will join more than 4,000 women taking part in Race for Life 5km or 10km courses to raise more than £400,000 for Cancer Research UK's life-saving research projects.
And despite his ongoing treatment Chris is accompanying Charlotte on training runs.
He also plans to be the first to cheer her past the finish line when she completes the 10km route at the Race for Life at Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire.
Chris said: 'I'm incredibly proud of her for what she's doing because she could so easily sit back because she's so busy with work and worrying about me. It shows the woman that she is to me.'
DAILYMAIL
After a series of tests, Chris, a photographer, was diagnosed with secondary cancer in July 2012.
Charlotte and Chris were married in October
October 2012 at St Gregory's Church in Offchurch, Warwickshire. Before
getting married she had already made a scrapbook of her perfect wedding
Charlotte said that their engagement was always
going to happen, it was only a question of when. After his proposal,
Chris broached the idea of a quick register office ceremony, but
Charlotte wanted to have her dream rural church wedding
Chris, 41, said: 'I already knew I wanted to be married to Charlotte so when they said it was non-curable I knew what I was going to do.
Charlotte and Chris Clark are pictured with
Chris' children a from a previous marriage (son Connor, centre, son
Logan, right, and daughter Sennen, left)
Chris and Charlotte were sitting in a hospital waiting room five minutes later, in a state of shock, when he turned to her and popped the question.
Then just minutes after, he was in a hospital bed undergoing another round of gruelling tests.
Charlotte said the big day was the wedding she
had always dreamed of. The couple had been together for six years before
they wed but always knew they would eventually tie the knot
'Our engagement was always going to happen, it was only a question of when,' added Charlotte, a social worker who met Chris six years ago at a wedding.
After his proposal, Chris broached the idea of having a quick register office ceremony.
But it was not quite what she was hoping for, because for the six months before Chris became ill Charlotte had been planning her dream of a rural church wedding.
Friends, family and local businesses rallied
round to make the couple's magical wedding come true. Despite having a
week's notice to be at the event, some 300 people shared the couple's
big day at a neighbouring farm
Charlotte says, 'The whole day was just like the wedding I had dreamed of. We have been together for six years, and have always known we would get married, but had been taking our time.
'Even though Chris hadn't asked me yet I would save links and pictures in a folder on my tablet that I would want in my future wedding.
Chris - a freelance photographer who once served
in the Navy - suffers with is a hereditary form of cancer but he didn't
know about his risk because he was adopted. He was given just six
months to live but is still alive, eight months after the wedding
'When we decided to do a wedding in ten days the preparation I had done was a Godsend, and made things lots easier.
'We were lucky as loads of family and friends have businesses that are involved in weddings in someway.
'Chris's brother has a marquee business, we have a friend who is a photographer and another who is a florist. The wedding more or less planned itself!'
'The whole day was just how I had dreamed.'
Charlotte said they count their blessings every
day. She said: 'We keep thinking it could be ten times worse. Chris is
feeling pretty good at the moment so we're making the most of that. He's
my inspiration'
The couple were surrounded by 100 family and friends including Chris's children Connor, 20, Logan, 17, and Sennen, 15, from a previous marriage.
Despite having a week's notice to be at the event, some 300 people shared the couple's big day in October at a neighbouring farm.
Charlotte said: 'It was amazing. It was everything I wanted and more.'
Charlotte, a social worker, met Chris seven years ago at a wedding
On June 30 Charlotte will join more than 4,000
women taking part in the Race for Life to help raise more than £400,000
for Cancer Research UK's life-saving research projects
The rare cancer he suffers from is a hereditary and he did not know about the risk because he was adopted.
However, he has already defied the statistics as doctors said the average life expectancy from the point of diagnosis was six months.
Despite his ongoing treatment Chris is
accompanying Charlotte on training runs. He also plans to be the first
to cheer her past the finish line when she completes the 10km Race for
Life
'We count our blessings every day. We keep thinking it could be ten times worse. Chris is feeling pretty good at the moment so we're making the most of that. He's my inspiration.'
On June 30, Charlotte will join more than 4,000 women taking part in Race for Life 5km or 10km courses to raise more than £400,000 for Cancer Research UK's life-saving research projects.
Chris said: 'I'm incredibly proud of Charlotte
for what she's doing because she could so easily sit back because she's
so busy with work and worrying about me. It shows the woman that she is
to me'
He also plans to be the first to cheer her past the finish line when she completes the 10km route at the Race for Life at Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire.
Chris said: 'I'm incredibly proud of her for what she's doing because she could so easily sit back because she's so busy with work and worrying about me. It shows the woman that she is to me.'
DAILYMAIL
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