When Delphia Wilson died after three years in a coma, her daughter knew she didn’t want a traditional goodbye.
When Delphia Wilson died after three years in a coma, her daughter knew she didn’t want a traditional goodbye.
Delphia died Feb. 8, 2026, and her daughter, Shawanda Steverson, said she immediately thought about what her mother would have wanted instead of a funeral.
“When she actually passed away I was like I don't really like funerals. My mom don't like funerals,” Steverson said.
Steverson described her mother as “very outgoing courageous person. She can walk into a room and light it up.”
The two were close and had talked about end-of-life plans, Steverson said.
“She wanted us to party and have fun. She didn't want no crying,” she said.
There was also something Steverson said her mother had always dreamed of but never got to experience: a wedding.
“My mom always wanted to get married. She wanted to have this big lavish wedding. She told me how she wanted it. What sounds she wanted,” Steverson said. “Unfortunately she was not blessed to find that significant other to have that wedding.”
So Steverson decided to honor her mother with what she called a “forever wedding,” describing it as marrying her mother “into heaven.”
“I would love to walk my mom down the aisle, dedicate her ashes to God, and give her away because that's her forever man now,” she said.
To make it happen, Steverson searched for the right wedding planner, calling multiple event planners across the country before connecting with Doreen Fitzpatrick, CEO of SassyFly Luxury Events in Western Washington. Steverson described the connection as more than coincidence.
“It's like she found you. I didn't find you,” she said.
Fitzpatrick said she was skeptical at first.
“I literally thought it was a scam because first of all I want to do my mom's this and I want it to be over the top. Who wants to do this because it's not cheap for what she did,” Fitzpatrick said.
Though she typically declines requests for funerals, Fitzpatrick agreed to plan this “forever wedding” and designed an event filled with glamorous touches, including chandeliers, white Italian leather sofas, Wilson’s favorite color purple, and her jewelry on display. Guests were served Wilson’s favorite food and drinks, and a perfume bar allowed them to create custom scents to take home.
One of the most emotional elements for Steverson was an AI video of her mother.
Fitzpatrick said, “Every time I talked to Shawanda she would say I wish I could hear my mom one more time.”
Fitzpatrick called the event meaningful and personal.
“It's such an honor to get to do something different and very intentional like this,” she said.
During the ceremony, Steverson walked her mother down the aisle.
“The preacher said what he said and we just married her into heaven and gave her to God and it was the best feeling I've ever had,” Steverson said.
For Steverson, the “forever wedding” was a final celebration of her mother’s life — the kind of party she said Wilson wanted all along.
