I canceled my wedding to get married at an NYC hospital so my dad could see me one last time before he died
Elisabeth Linde never dreamed of her wedding like most little girls growing up.
She didn’t fantasize about saying “I Do” in a big poofy dress. She didn’t get lost in thoughts about riding off into happily ever after in a horse-drawn carriage.
The Long Island resident did, however, always envision her father, Stuart, at her side on the big day.
So when a mesothelioma diagnosis rendered him bedridden at Manhattan’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center just days before her June 4, 2023 nuptials, the bride-to-be made sure her one wedding wish came true.
“I canceled my wedding and got married in my dad’s hospital room on June 3,” Linde, 31, told The Post. “My dad was one of my biggest supporters. He had to be there.”
Stuart, a family man and Wall Street executive, who served as the Head of Equity Research at Lehman Brothers and Barclays, died at age 56.
He passed away on June 5 — just two days after her wedding.
Still processing the loss of her dad months later, Linde shared videos from the emotional day — including visuals of the tearful, yet glowing bride walking down a hospital hallway as her aisle and meeting groom, Devin, 33, and son Gabriel, 8, at Stuart’s bedside — online as a crucial step in her grieving process.
Footage of the sentimental ceremony immediately went viral, with over 53 million TikTok views since she shared them this week.
“It was surreal,” the newlywed told The Post. “My dad and I held hands.”
“I told him how much I loved him and thanked him for everything he’s done for me and my husband.”
Linde credits Stuart, as well as her mother Eileen, with saving both her and Devin’s lives.
“My husband and I were drug addicts,“ explained the brunette. “My dad helped us get clean and stay clean.”
“He and my mom took us in, he motivated me to go back to nursing school and pursue my nurse practitioner certification,” added Linde. “He always made sure my son, who called him Deeda, had a good life.”
The day before Stuart passed, she and Devin made a grand gesture as an expression of their eternal gratitude.
“My dad has three daughters but he always wanted a son to carry on our last name,” said Linde. “So, on June 4, we asked his permission to take the last name ‘Linde’ so that our son can be the person to do that.”
And while the harsh fluorescent lights and beige walls of most healthcare centers don’t necessarily make the ideal wedding backdrop, Linde tells The Post she has no regrets.
“It was really a special and beautiful way to honor my dad,” she said.
The catering hall, as well as a number of vendors she’d booked for her canceled June 4 fête, gave her family a credit, allowing them to host a separate event at their location at a later time.
“We didn’t lose anything from having it at the hospital,” said Linde. “We just gained this great family memory.”
