Alicia's heartwarming story (shared on our socials just days after her wedding) was picked up by The Waterloo Record. Due to challenges sharing articles on social media, we have included it here for you to read the full version. Special thanks to Prabhnoor Kaur, Reporter from The Waterloo Record, for connecting with the Communications team to meet with Alicia and Aryn for a retelling of this beautiful story.
We ask that you consider supporting your local news outlets to keep updated on the happenings in your community. Read on to witness a dream come true thanks to the dedication of CMH staff going above and beyond the call of duty.
(originally published in The Waterloo Record on March 29, 2025)
Alicia Beharry and Richard Phillips got married at Cambridge Memorial Hospital on March 18, thanks to staff in the B4 Surgical Inpatient Unit.
Staff at Cambridge Memorial Hospital went above and beyond, organizing a wedding for a patient in the B4 Surgical Inpatient Unit last Tuesday, March 18. Cambridge Memorial Hospital
By Prabhnoor Kaur Reporter
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When staff at Cambridge Memorial Hospital overheard a patient talking about wanting to get married, they decided to make it happen.
Alicia Beharry and Richard Phillips got married at CMH on March 18, thanks to the staff in the B4 Surgical Inpatient Unit.
In just 24 hours, staff at CMH went above and beyond their regular duties and turned a hospital bridge into a wedding aisle, giving a patient and their partner a day they would never forget.
“I was asked on Monday morning if I was able to support in planning a wedding and I couldn’t help myself but meet with Alicia and her partner afterwards and hear a little bit about their story and decided in that moment in time that I was gonna do everything,” said Aryn Buchanan, medical social worker at CMH.
With little time, they arranged everything — a wedding dress, bouquet, decorations and a homemade cake.
The ceremony took place on the Wing B4 Bridge — decorated with flowers and candles — with family, friends and staff gathered to watch the couple exchange vows.
“I was blown away. I was totally shocked and I was super, super happy. It was like a fairy tale. Put it this way, it was like a fairy tale, but I didn’t expect it when I came out of my room and I saw everything, it was like, wow, I didn’t know anything. I didn’t see anything taking place,” Beharry said after her surgery at CMH.
“It was like a whole big beautiful explosion taking place in front of me and it was, it’s just … I can’t even describe it.”
Beharry did not want to discuss the details of her surgery.
For Buchanan, it’s not every day she gets to plan a wedding in under 24 hours as a medical social worker, but she said it was “an honour of a lifetime.”
“Oftentimes, people come to the hospital when they’re sick and when they’re not well, and so to experience kind of the opposite of that being such a joyous and enlightening experience,” Buchanan said.
“I think it was good for staff to be a part of that, and ultimately, at the end of the day, we got to fulfil a wish and fulfil a dream, and that’s truly all that matters.”
Beharry described the day as “perfect.”
“It was just like magic. You could feel love in the air. What they did for me was breathtaking and I can never thank this staff and this hospital for everything because it was so beautiful.”
“There were a lot of people who were crying. There were tissues going around, that’s for sure,” Buchanan added.
Rob Heintz from Spiritual Care led the ceremony, and staff members Peppi and Jose sang a love song as Alicia walked toward Richard in a wedding gown.
While Buchanan could not recall the last time the hospital arranged something like this, she said it is something they have done historically.
“I think my biggest takeaway of this is that even though there’s a lot of sadness and heartbreak that happens here at the hospital and in any hospital, there’s still a lot of joy that can come from little experiences,” Buchanan said.
“Everybody should love everybody, come together as one, and that’s the magical part of it.”
