Emma Letts, a mother of one from Leicestershire, says she was left "in bits" after finding a secret message left by her mum on her wedding shoes.
Due to be married in August this year, Emma received her wedding shoes this week, finding the secret message. Her mum had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer just months after Emma's engagement in December 2016. Unfortunately her mum passed away in 2017 from the illness, but not before organising a gift for Emma's big day.
On the sole of the shoes, Emma found a beatiful message inscribed in gold, reading:
"Wanted you to have a gift from me on your wedding day. Your wedding shoes are my gift to you."
"Hope you have a magical day. Lots and lots of love and big hugs, MUM xxxx"
The shoes were Emma's first purchase for the wedding, and said she was overwhelmed upon finding the message: "I started to cry... I was just absolutely in bits. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk," she said.
Emma had chosen to have her shoes customised by online shop Lace and Love, run by Amanda Weise. Amanda revealed that Emma's mum had contacted her just weeks after the order was placed in January 2017 and asked for the custom message to be added to the shoes. She had also paid off the shoes and asked for the deposit to be refunded to Emma. While Emma was completely unaware of the secret, her fiance Richard was in on it.
Amanda called them "the most emotional shoes she'd ever made", continuing: "hopefully it will give her a bit of comfort on the day. It will be like walking down the aisle with her mum."
Emma shared the post of the shoes on Facebook saying they were her "dream shoes".
"I received my beautiful shoes yesterday and I can not stop looking at them... WOW! I am totally in love! Amanda is super talented and has such a amazing eye for detail. The shoes are so personal and bespoke."
