The reenacted wedding event had come to pass after the hospice staff had asked the elderly couple about their wedding pictures. King’s daughter, Sue Bilodeau, explained how her parents never got to celebrate a grand wedding:

“Mom had mentioned, ‘We got married on a two-day notice while Dad was just on a short leave… before he went overseas in World War II. And we didn’t have time to plan a big wedding..”

King and Royce had been receiving care and support from St. Croix Hospice at their Oelwein home. A few weeks before their wedding, the hospice staff decided to give their backyard an impressive makeover, turning it into a 1940s-style wedding venue.