How a blood donor saved a happy couple's wedding day

"That change of circumstance right before the wedding was pretty tough ... but we wanted to press ahead with it," James said.

"We thought our love deserved that sort of celebration."

A blood transfusion, thanks to a donor, made it possible.

"You see blood donations as something which is life-saving, but it also gives the ability to live life, and it can change the life of people," James's wife, Bianca said.

Bianca said she spotted an unusual lump on James' neck while they were scouting wedding venues in May 2023 ahead of their big day that November.

He went to his doctor, and was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, in August and began chemotherapy straight away.

"We were really at a sort of fork in the road where we had to decide whether to continue with the wedding or cancel ... obviously the number one priority is to protect James's health," Bianca said.

But she said they wanted there to be something beautiful amid what they knew was going to be a harrowing journey.

James's physical and mental health deteriorated quickly after beginning treatment, sometimes to the point where he barely had the energy to stand.

"I was committed to do the wedding, but it did cross my mind that like: Am I going to be physically able to do this?"

His doctor made a plan aimed at him being well enough to get through his special day, which involved getting a blood transfusion.

"Aside from needing to take breaks every now and then...most of the day was a pretty typical wedding day," he said.

"I stood there through the ceremony, I waited for [her] to come down the aisle."

Now in his third year of remission, James said the experience gave him an "immense gratitude" for blood donors.

"When you go in to donate blood, it's probably a moment in someone's life, like it's an afternoon, it's a morning, whatever it is," James said.

"But that one person...gave me the best day of my life."