For newlyweds Jamie Reimer and Doug Seaman, he was one of the many people who saved their big day. So, of course he had to be included.

“I told him he brought me the best present,” Jamie says.

Unlike the many couples who’ve moved their wedding back in hopes of avoiding the worst days of the coronavirus pandemic, this pair rushed theirs forward several months and in just hours.

Doug’s father, Carl, was in the final stages of pancreatic cancer and in hospice care. His final wish was to see his son get married.

So instead of tying the knot before 250 guests at Trinity Lutheran Church in Papillion, the couple moved the ceremony to Josie Harper Hospice House.

“It was right outside his window,” Doug says of their   outdoor nuptials with about 25 guests on July 5, 2020.

The bridegroom's dad died the following morning.

But this isn’t a story about sadness.

“We chose to be joyful and celebrate Carl’s life and the future we were building together,” Jamie says.

While mourning Carl’s death, they can’t help but feel joy when they look back at those few crazy days and how so many people stepped up to help when they sent out a wedding SOS.

From the best man, who handled so many last-minute decisions while Doug was with his father, to the bridesmaids and groomsmen’s wives who decorated his parents’ backyard for their reception, to the friends who found them a photographer and made the bouquets — they couldn’t have done it without any of them.

And we can’t forget about Ali Abdourhamane, who was delivering Amazon packages for the U.S. Postal Service.

Along with a hundred other last-minute decisions, Jamie had to order a wedding dress. When it hadn’t arrived the day before the ceremony, Jamie went to a backup plan. But it wasn’t the traditional dress she dearly wanted.

To her relief, the delivery man showed up with the dress three hours before the ceremony. His picture was taken, and he now will forever be part of their wedding memories.

The day provided an important perspective on what marriage and a wedding really means. It’s not the pageantry and party, she says. It’s about making a commitment to the other person in your life, he says.

They’re forever grateful for the people who gave them such an amazing start.

“I mean, 36 hours to plan this thing,” Doug says. “My only concern was getting married while he (his father) was still with us. We pulled it off. It was utter chaos. We felt so, so loved by the people who surrounded us that day.”