Groom’s Dad with ALS Witnesses Son’s Wedding from Hospital Bed in Heartfelt Ceremony Before His Death (Exclusive)  

A couple brought their wedding to the hospital so that the groom’s dad could see them marry.

Just one week after Zuleika Hammond, 34, and Zachery Hammond, 32, got engaged last May, Zachery’s father, Joseph Hammond, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The couple says “he started having a really fast decline in his health,” and by November it was clear to them that he might not live to see their wedding day. So, they decided to fast-track their ceremony plans by scrapping their original August 2026 date for Dec. 21, 2025.

“We were supposed to get married August of this year. And it was Nov. 21, so exactly a month before our wedding day, that we decided, ‘You know what, let’s do it. Let’s plan this whole thing out in a month, just so that way we can make sure that he can be there,’ ” Zuleika tells PEOPLE.

She continues, “When we told him on Thanksgiving, when we gave him the news that we were going to have the ceremony in a month versus waiting until August, he was so happy. His reaction made it completely worth it.”

The couple intended for Joseph to attend their wedding in person, but “life had different plans.” Ten days before the ceremony, his heart stopped for “15 minutes.”

Luckily, doctors were able to revive Joseph. At the time, Zuleika and Zachery held onto hope that Joseph might still make it to their wedding, but just a few days before the celebration, he underwent a surgical procedure and had to stay in the hospital.

“We decided to bring the ceremony to him,” Zuleika says.

The morning of their wedding day, Zuleika and Zachery said “I do” in a heartfelt ceremony in Joseph’s hospital room. They were joined by their wedding photographer and officiant.

“We already told him ahead of time we would be there, but I think it was still shocking when he saw us both dressed up for the wedding with a boutonniere [for him], and saw Travis (the officiant). It made it all feel real,” Zuleika shares. “It was so exciting to see how he lit up during that moment.”

Zachery adds that his favorite part was when he and Zuleika stood on either side of his father’s hospital bed. He remembers, “[Joseph] took both our hands, and just told us how happy he was and how much he loved us.”

After their hospital ceremony, Zuleika and Zachery headed to their larger wedding, which was livestreamed for Joseph so that he could watch in real-time.

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“It was over Zoom, so people could stop and say hi to him. It was kind of set up back in the back of the room, so as people went and took their seats, they said hi to him,” Zachery explains. “After we walked back down the aisle, we went over there.”

Joseph died about two months later on Feb. 16 at age 64.

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Although “it was a really stressful time” for the couple, they say they’re “really thankful” that they went through with the last-minute hospital ceremony and brought their photographer to capture all of the touching moments for them to look back on.

May is ALS Awareness Month. Zuleika and Zachery hope that by sharing their story, they’ll raise awareness about the neurodegenerative disease and its fast progression. They also want to “offer reassurance” to other couples who might be in that “stressful planning stage.”

“It’s all about just the people who they’re with, and not to get so caught up in the details,” Zuleika emphasizes. “Being only a month of planning, we had to sacrifice having some more traditional things. Like, I bought my dress two weeks before the wedding, and that was complete chaos. We didn’t have a traditional bachelor/bachelorette party, we didn’t have a traditional honeymoon after the wedding. But that’s completely okay because it was more important to ensure that we could have his dad there, even though it had to be altered.”

Zachery agrees, sharing, “It was all about family being together.”