Brave bride loses battle with cancer just seven weeks after she married

Yvonne Owen, 40, was diagnosed with inoperable Stage 1V cancer of the stomach lining in April and was given just six months to live.

She opted for chemotherapy after doctors said it could possibly give her an extra three to six months.

"Obviously I opted for the chemo... I will do absolutely anything to gain more time with my daughters. I want to be as positive as possible and give them as many beautiful memories as possible. But all I keep thinking is that I'll never see them grow up," sobbed Yvonne at the time.

Daisy-May was six and Maddison-Rose 10 when the diagnosis was made, and Yvonne immediately drew up a wish list and vowed to give them as many"beautiful memories" as possible in the time they had left together.

One of the wishes was for the girls to be bridesmaids when she and their dad Ricky finally got married.

"We've been engaged for 10 years. Each year we kept saying we'd get married next year, but there was always something that cropped up. Money was tight and we just never got round to it," Yvonne told the Citizen at the end of April.

A grim race against time began to organise a dream wedding day. A strong of local businesses, hearing of the family's plight, rallied round to help them.

Friends launched GoFundMe page and one contacted Michelle Louise from Hulio Events company in Stony Stratford, who promptly and offered her services as wedding planner.

Within just 24 hours, Michelle had reached out to all her contacts and organised a stunning venue for more than 200 guests, a dress, a car, flowers, cake, wedding make up artist and a DJ - all local companies and all offering their services for free.

"We're just overwhelmed," said Yvonne and Ricky at the time. "We don't know how to thank people enough. We didn't expect any of this and we just can't believe how much generosity, love and support people are showing us."

All the businesses and donors were poised to leap into action the minute lockdown restrictions ended. But last month, just before second wave restrictions were announced, the Brooklands couple made the decision to go ahead.

On September 5 the couple enjoyed a beautiful church wedding, with Yvonne and her daughters looking stunning, followed by a socially-distanced reception for a limited number of guests.

Last week, almost exactly six months after her diagnosis, Yvonne lost her battle.

Devastated Ricky posted on social media: "Today we say goodbye to an amazing mummy wife and friend. Heaven has gained an angel."

Since then hundreds of people have posted tributes to Yvonne, many saying she was "a beautiful person inside and out" with a "smile that lit up the room".

One mourner wrote: "Such an amazing, strong, inspirational woman who never let anything stop her from smiling even right to the end. Heaven is lucky to have gained such a beautiful soul."