Charity provides dream wedding for cancer sufferer

A US couple have tied the knot in a dream ceremony thanks to the kindness of a cancer charity.

Pierre Freeman married his long-time girlfriend Melanie Gaskins in a touching ceremony in Philadelphia.

"It was love at first sight. I felt something when I saw you at an event. My black Nubian queen, I want to be your king forever," Freeman said during his vows.

But it wasn't an ordinary wedding. Freeman has an inoperable brain tumour and liver, lung and bone cancers, and doctors have given him only months to live.

The ceremony was provided by charity Wish Upon a Wedding, a not-for-profit that arranges weddings for couples affected by terminal illness.

The couple's union was celebrated by family and friends, who shared their admiration for Pierre and Melanie's strength and love for one another.

"It's amazing, it really is. They've been together and they've been through so much," Melanie's daughter Adriana said.

"I admire her and I think a lot of her and I'm always telling her, 'Thank you for being so strong,'" Walter Freeman, Pierre's father said.

Despite Pierre's bleak prognosis, Melanie's vows contained a message of hope.

"I can't imagine my life without you and with God's mercy, I'll never know what that feels like. I intend to spend the rest of my life with you, growing old, laughing together. Pierre, I love you," she said.