The happiest day of their lives... except the groom had just four months to live: How brave couple celebrated their dream wedding in the face of unimaginable tragedy

  • Solomon Chau and Jennifer Carter, both 26, got engaged in April 2014 and were due to get married this August
  • However, in December Chau was told he had liver cancer, and in March the disease spread and became terminal
  • Doctors told him he likely wouldn't live to see the original date, so couple moved the ceremony to April 2015
  • Heartbreaking video shows them celebrating their big day despite Chau being just months away from death
  • Chau died earlier this week and his funeral took place yesterday - the date they had originally set to tie the knot 

By Chris Pleasance For Dailymail.com

Published: 21:19 EST, 22 August 2015 | Updated: 03:36 EST, 23 August 2015

When Jennifer Carter and her boyfriend Solomon Chau started planning their wedding in April 2014 they had no idea of the tragedy that was about to unfold.

While the couple initially planned to get married in August this year, they had to move the date to April 11 after Solomon was told he had terminal liver cancer. 

Then, just four months after tying the knot, and aged only 26, Solomon passed away - and his funeral was held yesterday, the same day he was initially supposed to get married.

Solomon Chau, 26, got engaged to long-term girlfriend Jennifer Carter in April last year, but while they were busy planning their wedding, he was diagnosed with liver cancer in December

The couple were then forced to move their wedding date when Chau was told his cancer had become terminal, and they tied the knot on April 11 - four months ahead of schedule

The couple were then forced to move their wedding date when Chau was told his cancer had become terminal, and they tied the knot on April 11 - four months ahead of schedule

Doctors had told Chau he likely wouldn't live to see his wedding day, so the ceremony was moved. He died earlier this week, and the funeral was held yesterday, the same day they were due to get married

Images from the couple's big day show them smiling and happy despite the fact that Chau knew he had just months left to live

Images from the couple's big day show them smiling and happy despite the fact that Chau knew he had just months left to live

A touching video of their wedding day shows the young couple trying the knot and then dancing together, deeply in love, just four months before he died.

Pictures from the day also show them enjoying a blissfully happy ceremony with one another, despite Solomon having been given the news he was dying just weeks beforehand.

Announcing her husband's death, Jennifer, who goes by the name Jenn online, said: 'The most incredible person I've ever known passed away after an eight month battle with cancer.

'Sol fought long and hard and gave it his all. His optimism and sense of humour kept both me, and those closest to us, at least moderately sane throughout all of this. 

'For that, we'll never be able to thank him enough.'

In Solomon's obituary, posted on the Toronto Star's website, it explains how the couple met aged 19 when Solomon was having a house party for his 19th birthday in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Despite living an hour's drive away across Lake Ontario, Jennifer ended up going along while visiting a friend who went to college there. 

Chau passed away earlier this week, and his family held his funeral yestreday, the same day they were initially planning to get married

Chau passed away earlier this week, and his family held his funeral yestreday, the same day they were initially planning to get married

A heartbreaking video of the pair on their wedding day has now emerged, showing them tying the knot and then dancing together just four months before Chau passed away

This is the touching tribute Chau's wife posted on Facebook on the day he died. The final line is thought to reference a conversation before he passed away when they imagined death as a vacation, and he said he would find a spot to wait for his family

This is the touching tribute Chau's wife posted on Facebook on the day he died. The final line is thought to reference a conversation before he passed away when they imagined death as a vacation, and he said he would find a spot to wait for his family

At first she wasn't that interested in Solomon, but according to friends he was instantly smitten and the pair began dating, while he eventually moved to Toronto to be closer to her.

They had been dating for six years when Solomon eventually popped the question in April last year, and they began planning their wedding for August 22, 2015.

Solomon was also working hard at becoming a chef after putting himself through training school in Toronto, and according to relatives he had been planning to start a family of his own.

However, in December 2014 Solomon was diagnosed with liver cancer, and had surgery to remove a tumor which doctors initially thought had been successful.

Then, in March, he was rushed to hospital with unbearable stomach pain. Further scans revealed that his cancer had returned and spread, and was now terminal. Worse still, doctors told Solomon that he would likely be dead before the wedding date.

Determined to make the most of the time they had left, the pair set up a GoFundMe page in order to pay for the ceremony to be moved, and it attracted $50,000 worth of donations in just a few days.

Paying tribute to her husband, Mrs Chau said the couple 'should have been able to live out the next 60 years of our life together' (pictured, Chau, second left, poses with his friends on his wedding day)

Paying tribute to her husband, Mrs Chau said the couple 'should have been able to live out the next 60 years of our life together' (pictured, Chau, second left, poses with his friends on his wedding day)

Family and friends have paid tribute to Chau online, saying he had 'the biggest smile' and was a genuinely warm, friendly person

Family and friends have paid tribute to Chau online, saying he had 'the biggest smile' and was a genuinely warm, friendly person

On a fundraising page, set up to help the couple move the date of their wedding, Chau's family said his diagnosis had come as a huge shock because he led an active, healthy lifestyle

On a fundraising page, set up to help the couple move the date of their wedding, Chau's family said his diagnosis had come as a huge shock because he led an active, healthy lifestyle

The couple managed to raise $50,000 in order to rearrange their wedding which took place just weeks after Chau was told he was dying

The couple managed to raise $50,000 in order to rearrange their wedding which took place just weeks after Chau was told he was dying

The happy couple kiss on their wedding day back in April, just four months before Chau died at home from terminal liver cancer

The happy couple kiss on their wedding day back in April, just four months before Chau died at home from terminal liver cancer

On April 11 they were married at Casa Loma, a museum in Ontario, and took off on a trip together to see Niagara Falls, as well as buying a dog together.

Despite medics telling Solomon he would not live much longer, he continued to defy expectations until finally passing away last week.

The obituary tells of how his family prepared him for his death by discussing it like a vacation, and he agreed to find a spot to wait for them at.

He also said he would get to meet Julie, Jennifer's sister who died at a young age. 

Paying tribute to her husband, Jennifer added: 'Sol, you'll never know the impact you've had on me. 

The couple first met in 2007 when Chau was throwing a house party for his 19th birthday and Jennifer ended up there while visiting a friend who studied nearby 

The couple first met in 2007 when Chau was throwing a house party for his 19th birthday and Jennifer ended up there while visiting a friend who studied nearby 

Chau had trained as a chef and was hoping to start a family when he was diagnosed with cancer according to posts online by his family

Chau had trained as a chef and was hoping to start a family when he was diagnosed with cancer according to posts online by his family

According to posts online, Chau died in his sleep at home with his wife, who then broke the news to her followers on Facebook

The pair began dating back in 2007 after a chance meeting at a party, and had been infatuated with each other ever since

The pair began dating back in 2007 after a chance meeting at a party, and had been infatuated with each other ever since

'You've taught me, through everything we've been through over these past months, to never let a day go to waste. 

'I'm forever in your debt for showing me what love really is all about, and we learned more about it at 26 than some will learn in a lifetime. 

'You and I should have been able to live the next 60 years of our lives together, but I'm still forever thankful that God gave us 8 incredible years. 

'You're everything I could have asked for in a husband and more, and you'll always have my heart. Give Julie a hug for us. I'll see you on the front porch babe.'

Surgeons had operated to remove Chau's cancer and thought the procedure had been successful until he was brought back into hospital early this year with severe stomach pain only to be told the disease had spread

Surgeons had operated to remove Chau's cancer and thought the procedure had been successful until he was brought back into hospital early this year with severe stomach pain only to be told the disease had spread

In a tribute to her husband online, Mrs Chau wrote: 'Sol, you'll never know the impact you've had on me... you'll always be in my heart'

The couple (pictured center with friends) had been together for eight years before Chau passed away in his sleep on Monday this week

The couple (pictured center with friends) had been together for eight years before Chau passed away in his sleep on Monday this week

 

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