On a wedding day, one of the most poignant occurrences to see is a father-daughter dance. Mary Bourne Roberts is one of the luckiest brides in history. On her wedding day, she got to dance with the most important guy in her life.

and we’re not simply referring to her hubby. Every little girl’s father is the person with whom she initially fell in love. Mary has always danced with her father, Jim. They used to dance around the kitchen when she was a kid!

Mary and Jim would dance around to the hit song, “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack which talks about taking chances and never giving up. The song meant a lot to Mary and Jim so they made a promise that they would play it at her wedding someday during the father-daughter dance.

Mary majored in dance at the University of Alabama and ended up receiving a job at a dance academy, and now she’s getting married. Jim was unfortunately diagnosed with glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer,

so Mary moved closer to home so she could be there for him, and when the wedding day had finally arrived, Jim had just entered Hospice care. Mary moved up her wedding date so her father could be present,

and he was! He appeared at Mary’s wedding in a wheelchair and held her hand while they danced to their song “I Hope You Dance.”Mary held Jim’s hand while she wheeled him around the dancefloor and leaned down to kiss his cheek several times.

While watching them, guests held back tears as their photographer captured the amazing moment. Unfortunately, Jim died less than two weeks after Mary’s wedding, but Mary knew that her wedding dance would be one of the many great memories she would have of her father.