"My dad couldn't be at our wedding, so we brought it to him!"

Michelle Avila was already planning her wedding when her father fell gravely ill. He’s not going to make it to my wedding,” she feared. So she changed the date and chose a unique venue so her dad could be there to give her away

- Bill Holton

When's the big day?" the Lubbock, Texas, city clerk asked as she finalized the wedding license for Michelle Avila and her fiancé, Antonio Moreno.

"This May," Michelle said, but she inwardly flinched.

She worried May wouldn't be soon enough. Her father, Jose, whom she affectionately calls Apa, had not been in good health. She wished they could marry sooner, but she didn't want to stress out Antonio by changing their plans.

But as they headed outside, Antonio surprised her.

"I really think we should move the wedding date up." Michelle was the youngest of five children and the last to get married. "I will never be able to rest until all of my children are married with homes of their own," her dad had said ever since Michelle was a little girl.

Her parents loved Antonio from their very first meeting, so when Antonio asked for his daughter's hand in marriage, Jose was jubilant. "Now I can rest," he joked.

Love conquers all