Terminal Aussie cancer bride gets dream Scots wedding

A MIX of laughs, smiles and tears, Rachael McGilvray’s marriage to Josh Tseitlin seemed every inch the dream wedding.

But the bride, the groom and all of the guests had one extra reason to feel a sense of pride as Rachael and Josh tied the knot.

The ceremony was only made possible thanks to a huge fundraising campaign to stage

the wedding in Scotland.

Rachael was given just 12 months to live in December after she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.

Her family launched a fundraising campaign so she could return from Australia to her native Scotland to get married.

Rachael exchanged vows with Josh in front of family and friends at the Lochside House Hotel in New Cumnock, Ayrshire, on Monday.

She said: "Before the wedding, I said to everybody that it’s going to be emotional but I want everyone to be positive.

"I said they could cry during the ceremony but after that we would celebrate.

"The day was emotional and it was hard too, especially for my mum and dad.

"It’s bitter-sweet. We’re celebrating our marriage but there’s always going to be a big thing in the back of why we are here."

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The bride, who walked down the aisle on the arm of her dad Colin in a full-skirted ivory dress and train, had always dreamt of marrying in Scotland. She left the country as a four-year-old when her family emigrated from Ochiltree, Ayrshire, to Melbourne.

But she was hit by the cruellest blow when she was diagnosed with the brain tumourlast December.

In a million-to-one chance, Rachael was already having chemotherapy for endometrial cancer when doctors gave her the bombshell news that she had a grade IV brain tumour.

As she struggled to cope, Josh proposed and the 21-year-old’s family launched a campaign to fund her dream wedding.

Their original £10,000 target was smashed, with scores of big-hearted wedding suppliers on both sides of the globe offering their services for free.

Rachael said: "The amount of help and offers we got and the number of well-wishers, emails, texts – everything has been just so overwhelming. To begin to say thank you doesn’t begin to explain how Josh, I and my family feel about giving me this amazing day."

The couple, who got married in a humanist ceremony, have pledged to hold on to every moment.

Rachael said: "It’s all up in the air about my future treatment path and it’s hard not knowing what the future holds. I’ve had my down moments – the whole family have – but we’re there for each other."

The couple start their honeymoon in Scotland but next Saturday will head off travelling for two months before going home to Australia.

Josh said: "It hasn’t been easy but, as long as I have Rachael next to me, it’s all worth it.

"People have been so kind. Our visit to Scotland has been amazing."

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