Wheelchair-bound father surprises daughter by standing up to walk her down the aisle

One woman’s special day turned extra special after her wheelchair-bound father surprised her by walking down the aisle.

Heather Duquette was a little thrown off when the wedding DJ played the wrong song and her father wasn’t ready as she started to march towards her husband-to-be.

“I was a little nervous when I didn’t see him down there as I approached the doorway to make my entrance,” Duquette told BuzzFeed Life.

In fact, the DJ was allowing a little extra time for her dad, Ralph, to be helped out of his wheelchair so he could walk his daughter down the aisle. The elder Duquette was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012, which left him confined to a wheelchair. Much to everyone’s surprise, he had been working hard with a physical therapist and nurse since April to help bring mobility back to his legs.

The video shows Ralph slowly standing up with the help of a friend and carefully walking towards his daughter. At one point as they gradually make their way down the aisle, he loses his balance. A guest quickly jumps to his side to help him regain his footing.

“My father and I have been very close since he got sick,” Duquette said. “I know how afraid of falling he is, so for him to put himself out like that in front of everyone, to have the courage to walk the way that he did was really amazing.”

Ralph’s tribute got even more touching: He shared a dance with his daughter, to Al Martino’s “Daddy’s Little Girl,” while being supported by her brother and mother.