Sitting alone in a hospital bed dressed in her finest, 91-year-old New Jersey grandmother Peg McCormack may not have been able to attend her beloved grandson’s wedding – but that wasn’t going to stop her celebrating in her own humble way.
So, when the newlyweds surprised her after their reception, her reaction was unforgettably joy-filled – and the images, which were among the last ones taken of Nana Peg, have melted hearts across the globe.
Peg broke her ankle just weeks before and being unable to walk, was forced to acknowledge she was going to miss her first grandchild’s wedding.
Devastated, on the morning of the wedding, she still dressed up in the clothes – and shoes – she had planned to wear as her grandson, Brian Kurtulik, married his fiancee, Lauren Nicotra, at St Vincent Martyr Parish, the very same New Jersey church she had wed in decades earlier.
“She lived only a half-hour away [from where the wedding ceremony took place] and was a big part of our lives growing up,” the groom, 30, told ABC News. “Anything going on in our lives she was there. She lived from party to party.”
When the newlyweds, dressed in their wedding attire, entered Peg’s room in the rehabilitation centre, her mouth flew open in shock – and, thankfully, the amazing moment, was captured on camera by Hello Gorgeous Photography, who posted them on Instagram.
“I walked in first and her mouth flew open,” Lauren, recalled. “She was just staring at me and then Brian walked in.”
“There she sat in her wedding outfit thinking of her sweet grandson on his wedding day with no idea of what was to come,”
“She kept saying, ‘I have a granddaughter. I finally have a granddaughter.’”
Sadly, Nana Peg passed away just a month after Brian and Lauren’s big day, so visiting her that day was a moment the couple will always cherish.
“Without even knowing it, [visiting her] was the best decision we made that day,” the bride wrote on Instagram. “Thank god we did this and got to capture this special moment. THIS is what life is all about. We get so lost in the perfect moments and perfect situations, sometimes we forget what’s happening right now.”
