One of the most wonderful things about weddings is that they do so much more than bring two people together. Weddings can also be a time to reconnect with entire families and celebrate the fact that everybody was able to be in the same place one more time. However, being able to have the entire family at a wedding ceremony is not possible for everyone.
For Tara Foley, it did not seem like her entire family would be able to make it to her wedding. At the time of her wedding, her grandmother was 103 years old and had a failing heart. Doctors generally urge patients to not travel in such fragile states, so she was not able to take the trip to the ceremony.
A Spontaneous Trip
However, Foley did not want her grandmother to miss out on all of the action. After all, wearing a wedding dress is such as significant part of any woman’s trajectory that she had to share the magical moment with her grandmother. About a month before the ceremony, Foley decided to surprise her grandmother by flying all the way to her retirement home. What made this moment so special was that she didn’t even change out of her wedding dress during the travel period. With her dress on and a plane ticket in her hand, Tara Foley headed out to spend time with her grandmother.
What happened next was an incredibly special but fragile moment. After seeing the state of her grandmother, Foley knew that it would likely be the last time that she would see her. For this reason, she made sure to make her goodbye significant, staying with her grandmother for the entire day. When she finally left at nighttime, she had a feeling that it wouldn’t be long until her grandmother would pass away.
Staying Grateful
Just as Foley predicted, her grandmother would pass away 27 days after she had visited her. However, this did not make Foley feel negative about the day they had shared almost a month earlier. Instead, she took this as a positive experience due to the fact that she was able to share a very significant moment with her grandmother. On top of this, the fact that her grandmother got to see her in her wedding dress made the moment even more special.
When looking back on the day, Foley refers to it as one of the best days of her life. She also ended up surprising her family and friends with photos she took of her grandmother on that day. In fact, she didn’t even tell anyone where she was going that weekend due to wanting to surprise people later!
Family Matters
At the end of the day, it’s important to spend as much time with your family as possible. Though families can be complicated, they are often the only source of constant love that you will have throughout your life. This is why we think Tara Foley’s story is so inspiring—she was able to savor the loving nature of family by sharing her wedding dress with someone who really cared about her.
