Heather and David chose to marry, despite her terminal cancer diagnosis

Most weddings are a new beginning—but for Heather and David Mosher, their wedding, just hours before she died of cancer, was a heartbreaking end. Watch this video to learn about their love for each other and decision to choose joy in the face of immense suffering.

Heather, a school psychologist, met David through their shared hobby of swing dancing. When they started dating after being friends for a year, they fell in love quickly.

“I can remember saying to her that one of two things was going to happen here: either I’m gonna get my heart broken or we’d be together forever,” David Mosher said, recalling a conversation they had after two months of dating, according to My Record Journal.

On December 23, 2016, Heather went to the doctor for a routine biopsy and was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. David had made plans to propose that evening on a horse-drawn carriage ride and, despite the devastating news, he decided to go through with the proposal. Exactly one year later, Heather died.

As Heather suffered through her illness, the wedding gave her something to look forward to with excitement. Her doctors and nurses worked to help her achieve her dream; they encouraged her and David to move up the wedding date when it became clear she did not have much time left, and wheeled her down to the hospital chapel in her bed.

At Heather’s funeral, a week after her wedding, prayer cards were distributed with her favorite Bible verse, Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

Although cancer robbed Heather and David of their future together, the love they shared lives on as their story inspires people around the world. The happiness on Heather’s face in her wedding photos is a stunning reminder that love is stronger than death.