A young mother with terminal cancer has fulfilled her fairytale wedding after marrying the love of her life.
Cancer-stricken bride Mikaila, 22, and her groom Harley Brisbane, 24, tied the knot in an intimate ceremony on February 10 after the community rallied behind the couple to bring their wedding forward.
And the parents, from Wollongong in NSW, have proven their love can overcome any challenge after the mother-of-two was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
The duo cancelled plans to get married last September after Mikaila needed treatment for alveolar soft part sarcoma – an extremely rare soft tissue cancer.
But after a chance meeting with photographer Beth Fernley, their special day was made possible after generous strangers either donated or discounted everything, including the dress, catering and venue.
Bride Mikaila Brisbane (pictured) fulfilled her fairytale wedding after tying the knot in an intimate ceremony on February 10
Her special day was made possible after generous strangers either donated or discounted everything
Mikaila and Harley have proven their love can overcome any challenge after she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer
‘Harley and I decided to bring our wedding forward and get married at soon as possible because we didn’t know how soon the cancer would take me,’ Mikaila told Daily Mail Australia.
‘We planned our wedding booked for September last year, but unfortunately I had to get surgery to remove the tumour.’
And earlier this month, the couple – who have a three-year-old daughter Indie and son Reef, aged two – exchanged their vows in front of loved ones.
‘Our wedding day was perfect,’ Mikaila said.
‘It was sunning all day and then right before it ended, it started raining. Harley and I are free-spirited type of people so it was just perfect.
‘It was more than just a dream wedding. I was feeling nervous when I saw Harley at the alter but I thought “I don’t know why I’m nervous, I’ve known you for five years”.’
The young couple have a three-year-old daughter Indie (right with Harley) and son Reef, aged two (left with Mikaila)
As the mother battles cancer, the family are building fond memories together, as well as compiling a bucket list
Their wedding day was made possible – all thanks to Beth who was moved by Mikaila’s heartbreaking battle with cancer
Mikaila said her wedding was ‘perfect’ after she married the love of her life and the father of her two beautiful children
Their wedding ceremony was made possible – all thanks to Beth who turned their wedding dream into a reality after she was moved by Mikaila’s heartbreaking battle with cancer.
‘I went to their house for a consult. While there Mik was fiddling with her hair and she asked if I minded if she took off her wig,’ Beth recalled.
‘She then told me she had cancer and was pretty sick with it. The fact that Mik is only 22 and they have two beautiful babies really upset me but also made me angry.
‘As I was sitting there listening to her story, my mind was doing back flips. Looking at this beautiful young couple who so desperately wanted this wedding but also had to battle daily with this disease.
‘I asked Mik, “if you could have your dream wedding, what would you want?” So I had the idea to see if I could ask for help, and see if we could put together a dream wedding for Mikaila and Harley.’
The couple were forced to put their wedding on hold last year as Mikaila needed to undergo surgery to remove a tumour
The couple met when Harley was working as an apprentice mechanic working with Mikaila’s brother who introduced them
Beautiful day: The couple celebrated their fairytale wedding, alongside their groomsmen and bridesmaids on February 10
And so, Beth – who offered to shoot the beautiful occasion free-of-charge – wrote about Mikaila’s story on Facebook, calling on wedding planners to get in touch if they wanted to help the couple with their ceremony.
Much to their delight, the community gave the couple their fairytale wedding.
The couple met when Harley was working as an apprentice mechanic working with Mikaila’s brother who introduced them.
And just three months into their relationship, the then-18-year-old fell pregnant with their first baby – daughter Indie. Two years later, they welcomed son Reef.
On Valentine’s Day last year, Harley popped the question to his wife-to-be when they were sailing on a cruise.
‘It was beautiful,’ she said.
During their romantic getaway, Beth said she noticed a lump the size of a ‘small orange’ on her buttock.
The mother was given the shocking diagnosis she had stage 4 alveolar soft part sarcoma following a scan and biopsy
The couple were engaged on a cruise while celebrating Valentine’s Day last year – a week later, Mikaila was diagnosed
‘I noticed the lump six months prior to the cruise. At the time, I got it checked a few times but I was told I had nothing to worry about,’ she said.
‘The lump would go away but kind of come back. But it popped up one day suddenly. During the cruise, it became noticeably bigger. It was really unusual.
‘It was swelling up really big, it didn’t seem normal. I decided to go to the hospital because by that stage, it was getting really hard to sit.’
And just one week later, she was given the shocking diagnosis she had stage 4 alveolar soft part sarcoma following a PET scan and biopsy.
‘I immediately knew what that meant, my friend passed away from sarcoma just two years earlier so I highly doubt I’d survive from it,’ she said.
‘I was very anxious and upset. I have two kids but I do feel pretty well and lucky. There’s not much I can do but try to stay positive and live my life. I’m not letting things bring me down.’
Building fond memories together, the family have been keeping their mind off the cancer battle
Their special day was made possible after generous strangers either donated or discounted everything to the couple
She went on a trial drug called a TKI inhibitor – where her condition was stabilised.
‘I was stable for a year which was really great. But recently, we found out it got aggressive again. The only thing I can do is get stable.’
The cancer is extremely rare, Mikaila said her chemotherapy treatment doesn’t respond well to her condition.
‘The prognosis is pretty bad,’ she said.
‘I’m fighting this hard. I’m trying to hold onto hope because it’s all I can do right now. I want to give myself the best chance because I’m only young, and I have two kids.’
But despite her fight, the mother has remained positive as she created a bucket list so she can build fond memories with her family.
‘It’s quite a big bucket list,’ she said.
‘I want to visit every state in Australia, go to America, it’s my biggest dream to take the kids to Disney – but it’s a bit hard because if I get sick over there, it would be very expensive for me because of the healthcare system.
‘I would love to go on a holiday with my family, go to Finland with my mother – and just little things like go on road trips. But I’m limited to where I can go so we’ll just see how it goes.’
The young mother-of-two was given the shocking diagnosis she had stage 4 cancer after she noticed a lump
Kind strangers are now raising money in an effort to send the loved-up couple on their ‘dream honeymoon’
As she continues on her fight against cancer, Beth has started another appeal to help raise money in an effort to send the couple on their ‘dream honeymoon’.
‘We instantly fell in love with Beth the minute we met her,’ Mikaila said.
‘She’s my soul sister now. We do a lot of things together. She’s just become such an important person in our lives and we absolutely love her.
‘And we would just like to say a big thank you to everyone who made my dream wedding possible. You made that memory for myself, my family, especially my children.’
To make a donation for the couple’s honeymoon, please visit the GoFundMe page.