'My dad died 20 years ago, but he still gave a speech at my wedding'
Watch: Bride receives touching letter from her dad on her wedding day, 20 years after his death
Freya Rosati, 32, a special effects technician, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was just 11 years old when her dad, Philip Hargreaves, died from oesophageal cancer at the age of 53.
But, she never dreamed that 20 years later she would receive a touching letter from him, on her wedding day.
In the weeks before he died, Philip wrote nine cards for his daughter - eight for birthdays, and a final one for her wedding day.
In lieu of Philip's father-of-the-bride speech, Freya's mum, Theresa, 68, read the card to wedding guests, with the special moment leaving everyone in tears.
The card read: "I wish I could be standing next to you, the proudest dad in the world, to walk you down the aisle to the man you love, and to the next chapter in your life.
"Today is your day, enjoy everything about it. Laugh and cry. Be happy and confident.
"Face everything full-on. You will then succeed in your life together.
"You gave me some of the proudest moments in my life with your sense of humour, intelligence, understanding and caring nature.
"Don’t ever change. Love you forever, dad."
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Speaking about hearing her dad's words Freya says: "It was such a sad moment, but so important to me that the card was read out.
"Even looking at his handwriting made it feel like he was there, and it was so nice."
Freya says her father wrote her cards for every birthday up until her 18th, then one for her 21st and a final message for her wedding day, which she describes as "the most important one."
Describing herself as a "daddy's girl" Freya says she did everything with her dad before he passed away.
But in early 2002, he began to complain of constant indigestion.
"He used to get indigestion a lot - he’d take heartburn tablets like candies," Freya says of her dad's initial symptoms. "But it seemed normal - he was a big guy who loved his food.
"For some reason, his leg started to swell up a bit, which is when mum decided to take him to the hospital.
"They ran tests and next thing we knew, they were calling her back in, telling her he had cancer of the oesophagus and giving him six months to live.
"He didn’t even have many symptoms - just indigestion and a bit of a stomach ache," she continues.
"But he went downhill quickly, losing nine stone in six months.”
After Philip died Freya says big life events, like her 18th, and introducing her fiancé, Michael, 33, to the family, were "bittersweet".
"It was very, very tough," she explains.
Having met her now-husband at work in April, 2016, five years later, the couple got engaged.
"We threw ourselves into wedding preparation, but it was hard," Freya says of the period.
"We went to a lot of wedding fairs and spoke to photographers and caterers, with all asking who is walking you down the aisle, what song you’re having for your dad-daughter dance.
"I had to tell our photographer very early on, it would just be me and my mum. My dad wouldn't be there.
"You see a lot of videos of that moment - the father-of-the-bride sees you in your dress for the first time and tears up.
“That, I found quite hard, knowing it wouldn’t happen."
But Freya was determined to include Philip in her big day, as much as she could.
Before he died, Philip gave his daughter a diamond necklace, which she wore as her "something old".
Her dad's favourite place to holiday was the island of Antigua, so Freya had steel pans playing her down the aisle.
Photos of Philip were also placed on a memory tree outside the venue, and the couple asked for donations to Macmillan Cancer Support as their wedding favours.
But it was her dad's card to her, handwritten in 2002, that had the biggest impact, making her feel like he was there with her.
"Just hearing his words, I can imagine him saying them to me," she says.
"My dad would’ve loved that wedding".
Additional reporting SWNS.
