Most girls dream of growing up and marrying the person they love. But what happens when there’s no time to grow up? A little girl from North Carolina asked for a wedding before it was too late.
The idea of a ten-year-old girl getting married fills people with dread, but what if the occasion was a beautiful gesture for a child who won’t get to live her dreams in the future? That’s what happened to Emma Edwards.
While other kids in her situation would’ve asked for a trip to Disneyland or to meet a beloved celebrity, Emma wanted one thing: to marry her boyfriend. The problem is that they were both ten years old. Her parents, Alina and Aaron Edwards, faced a big problem.
Emma and DJ’s wedding. | Source: Youtube/Cheer Extreme
In April 2022, their young girl was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but they were hopeful. Unfortunately, a few months later, the doctors gave them the devastating news that Emma had no time left.
Therefore, the parents and the community joined forces to make little Emma’s dream wedding come true with her boyfriend, Daniel Marshall Christopher Williams Junior, also known as DJ.
The event and Emma’s cause attracted so much attention that the local community adopted the name “Emma’s Army” and worked to fulfill her wishes.
Chris Carter, an announcer at the Bowman Gray Stadium, became the official organizer and appeared on several shows to invite people to participate. He said, “Emma’s like any other girl. She likes to play. She likes to be outside, and she loves people.”
According to the organizer, her treatment was so harsh. Sometimes, things would look up only to take the worst turns, exhausting the “precious girl.” But he also explained how much she was fighting and how determined she was to improve.
Finally, the Make-A-Wish Foundation stepped in to help Emma, her family, and the community with this dream wedding. Her mother explained, “Most kids want to go to Disneyland, but Emma wanted to get married, be a wife, and have three kids.”
Emma and DJ’s wedding. | Source: Youtube/Cheer Extreme
Emma and Her School Sweetheart
This event wasn’t the first time Emma and DJ tried to get married. They had tried to have a wedding in school years earlier when they were only eight. They had chosen bridesmaids and groomsmen from their classmates.
The boys even brought clip-on ties for the wedding which would happen during recess. While everyone thought it was cute, their teacher didn’t allow it. When Alina and DJ’s mom discovered that story, they got together and planned for the fastest event possible.
“We threw it together in less than two days, everything ended up being donated. It was so precious, and it came together so well,” she explained.
The event was recorded on video with special interviews from some attendees and, of course, the groom. DJ was asked what he thought when he first saw Emma. “I thought she was the most beautiful person I ever saw. Ever since I loved her,” he told the camera.
They’ve known each other since third grade, meaning two years. “It’s gonna be a very special night for all of us,” DJ said. His fondest memory of Emma was when she sent other kids running after him to ask him questions.
The boy said he knew he would marry Emma two months after that school year ended. “I was like, ‘I’m gonna marry that girl one day.’ Here we are today,” DJ added, finishing his interview.
