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Almost every girl who dreams of getting married envisions her father walking her down the aisle, but no one ever envisions such a scenario as this.

Just moments after Alan Bates, 65, escorted daughter Charlotte Galbraith, 36, to the waiting arms of her husband to be, he died of a massive heart attack.

Even more tragically and incredibly, Bates was in the middle of giving his speech to the newlyweds when he fell to the ground and could not be revived.

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The bride was quickly rushed from the room as a group of wedding guests, including an off-duty firefighter, did what they could to help revive Bates.

Unfortunately, they were too late. The family accompanied Bates to a nearby hospital and he was declared dead. For Charlotte, there are no words.

 

Describing the whole event as being an unreal blur, she says she will always cherish the photos taken of her father during the ceremony.

And being walked down the aisle, of course.

“The most important thing,” she told the Daily Mail (UK) in an interview, “was that he got to walk me down the aisle and saw us get married.”

In a confusing time undoubtedly filled with grief, those special moments before her father’s death are sure to provide her with strength and comfort.

Not that anyone would wish that scenario upon her in a million years, but those final moments with her dad are likely to be some of her favorites.

To make this unusual story even more bittersweet? The groom, Steve Galbraith, 42, and his new wife have learned they are expecting their second child.