'I get a little emotional thinking about it': Abilene nurse battling metastatic cancer gets free wedding from community

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – For Nate Hernandez, it was love at first sight. While working as a floor tech at Hendrick he fell in love with Abby Cantrell, a registered travel nurse. For Abby, it took a bit of convincing.

“He wouldn’t stop. He was a great friend to me and finally, I gave him a chance,” said Cantrell.

Although they worked in different departments, Hernandez made excuses to visit Cantrell at work.

“I was trying to find a way to go to her department every day and I did,” Hernandez shared.

The couple quickly fell in love and knew they wanted to get married, but they had a long road ahead. Abby was diagnosed in August of 2021 with metastatic cancer. Since they started dating in March of 2022, Nate stood by Abby’s side through it all.

“On the days where I don’t want to go to a doctor’s appointment or I don’t want to get up and do something, he says we’re going,” Cantrell explained.

The couple was officially engaged in September 2022, but with the high cost of chemotherapy and a wedding, they weren’t sure if a wedding would be possible.

The couple heard about a national nonprofit called ‘Wish Upon a Wedding,’ an organization that grants weddings free or charge for couples facing terminal illnesses. Hernandez and Cantrell were notified that they were recipients in December and were set to wed on February 16. They were able to hire a local wedding planner named Kendra Duke, who had around a month to plan the wedding and gather the perfect wedding team.

“You know I had to do this. By myself, no way, but I think I could do it with them (the wedding vendors) and so I reached out to them and saw if they would be interested. Then contacted Wish Upon a Wedding back and said yep absolutely,” Duke recalled.

Countless wedding vendors in Abilene and in and around the Big Country donated their services in an instant, so Abby and Nate can have their fairytale wedding. From videographers, florists, caterers and even the venue.

Ashley Pyle, the owner of Sabrina Cedars wedding venue, was one of the wedding vendors that donated her services. She said what she loved most about Abby and Nate’s wedding was they were involved in thanking every single vendor involved one by one.

“Abby was super intentional that she wanted to meet everyone… She wanted to interact with anyone that helped put the day together,” said Pyle.

Abby and Nate mentioned the focus of the wedding was to not focus on Abby’s diagnosis but to celebrate their love. They were thankful all the vendors involved honored their wishes and are forever grateful for the vendor’s kindness.

“I get a little emotional thinking about it, just like all these people took time out of their businesses and their lives and away from their families just to make us feel special,” expressed Cantrell.

The Hernandez’s officially married on February 16th, 2023 and look forward to the next phase of their lives. They shared they like to live in the moment and be spontaneous. The couple added they don’t believe in a prognosis and they will live each day to the fullest.

Per the couple’s request, they wanted to thank all the vendors involved.