ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WXYZ) — The halls of a hospital are not exactly the aisle that brides dream to walk down on their wedding day. But for Amber Hillier, more important than where she gets married is who is there to see it.
“My mom and I are extremely close," Hillier said. "That's the person I expected to be in the front row when I married the person I love.”
In April, Hillier's mother Keli had a health scare and was diagnosed with pancreatitis. Keli Hillier was fighting for her life on a ventilator but eventually overcame it and was discharged from the hospital. But just 10 days ago, Keli Hillier had another scare and was hospitalized again, less than two weeks before Amber’s wedding day.
“I was a hysterical mess," Amber Hillier said. "I broke down sobbing at a restaurant with my aunt and my sisters about the fact that I was going to have to have my wedding ceremony without my mom.”
That’s the backstory that makes this moment so special. With Keli Hillier stuck at Corewell Health hospital in Royal Oak, Amber’s sister had an idea of holding the ceremony at the hospital so their mom could be there. In just two days, staff helped turn a patient atrium into a wedding venue.
“There was no way because it’s an hour away that I could be at everything,” Kelli Hillier said of the original wedding. “The way people have come together to celebrate this has been such an incredible blessing for us. For me to be able to see them say 'I do,' it's everything.”
“I can't change the situation we're in, but good people still exist," Amber Hillier said. "It's really, really cool to see those people come together and help you out.”
Their original wedding scheduled for the next day is still on, with more than 100 guests attending. So while Sept. 21 will still be their anniversary, Sept. 20 will also be a day that groom Adam Montville and his bride, who is now Amber Montville, will always remember.
“I'm going to look back at a time that could've been so upsetting and so awful and I don't think about that at all," Amber Montville said. "I think about only happiness.”
"We get to say to each other now: 'I love you so much I got to marry you twice,'" Adam Montville said.
