Dean Pennell, 63, married his fiancée Kay Beaman on June 18 at Colchester Hospital in England, fulfilling a wish that had been postponed for two decades. The couple, who met 24 years ago, had initially put off wedding plans to prioritize providing for their combined 10 children.
Pennell, who has terminal cancer and was given only weeks to live, and Beaman decided to expedite their wedding plans. The ceremony took place at the hospital with family and friends in attendance, including some of their 18 grandchildren.
"I am absolutely elated," Beaman told SWNS. "We have waited a long time, and it’s so special to be able to celebrate our marriage here, with our families."
The hospital staff organized the wedding in less than a week. "It was very hard for Dean. He had been so excited in the lead-up to the wedding, and I would get a phone call from him at the hospital every morning telling me how many days there were to go until the wedding," Beaman recalled.
Despite his condition, Pennell was determined to stand for as much of the ceremony as possible. "When the day came, he was adamant, as difficult as it was, that he was going to stand up for as much as the ceremony as possible — and we had a lovely day," Beaman said. Following the ceremony, Pennell returned home.
Ward manager Lucy Everett stated, "It has been a pleasure to be able to help Dean and Kay. It’s rare that we get to celebrate a wedding at Colchester Hospital — it’s a first for me." The East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust presented the couple with a clock commemorating the exact time of their wedding.