Local Bride Gives Up Wedding Dance To Friend And Her Sick Father

Congratulations go out to a pair of brides from Rehoboth!  Michaela and Nora Cook-Yotts tied the knot recently, but it's their selfless act at their wedding is what is going viral around the world.

Michaela gave up her father-daughter dance for her best friend Jessica Otto and her sister Megan.  Jessica's dad Peter was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2001, Central Nervous System Lymphoma in 2009 and a brain tumor in 2013.  Unfortunately, last year he suffered a setback and his symptoms returned.  Since then his health has taken a turn for the worse.

Jessica doesn't know how much time she has left with her dad, and with no immediate plans on getting married herself, this definitely will be a day she will remember for the rest of her life.

Michaela told FUN 107, "The idea for the dance was actually my wife's idea. When she met Mr. Otto she fell in love with him because that's the kind of guy he is."  She continued, "When she heard that he was diagnosed with cancer for a 4th time she felt like she needed to give something back. I loved the idea and when we approached Jessica with the idea she was excited to have the opportunity."

Jessica told FUN 107, "It was one of the most selfless things anyone has ever done for me."

So what song did they dance to?  A remake of "Every Breath You Take" by Aaron Krause.  A song that Jessica had seen on Dancing With The Stars.

Don't feel bad for Michaela, she still was able to spend time with her father too.  She said, "Giving the gift of a dance is just a moment in time. Giving money to cancer research can make a real difference in someone's life. Everyday Nora and I wish we could take Pete's cancer away. That would be a real gift. The next best thing is donating to the PMC to possibly change the course of history for some else. Getting attention for helping Jess raise $20,000 would be amazing."

Jessica will be riding in her fourth PMC Ride to benefit Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on August 4th and 5th.  She chose to ride to support Dana-Farber because her dad is a patient there and, "their knowledge in treatment has given us 16 years with him since his initial diagnosis."

So far this year Jessica has raised about $4,000 of her goal. If you'd like to donate to support her and her dad, click here.

And take a look at these beautiful pictures from their special day, with photos courtesy of Denyse Dias with BelleRey Photography.