History Main / LastWishMarriage

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

* Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie anthology fic [[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13839701/1/Harvest-of-Friends Harvest of Friends]] has Chapter 4, in which a dying Sylvia Webb is given a wedding in church and maies it to the kiss before starting to lose consciousness and succumb.

* Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldofGumballS1E5TheEnd The End]]", Gumball and Darwin [[MistakenForApocalypse believe the world is going to end in a day]], so Gumball tries to marry his crush, Penny, in the school hallway, apparently without even proposing first. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome She responds by pointing out the problem with this and the fact they're just twelve]], but says she'd be open to him trying this again in like twenty years, which Gumball accepts... before he immediately proposes to the nearest girl after Penny walks off.

** Another episode of ''Family Guy'', "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS17E1MarriedWithCancer Married... with Cancer]]", has Brian date Jess, a woman with cancer. Once her doctor announces that her cancer is terminal and she's due to die in days. Upon hearing this, she cries about the fact that she will never be able to get married, and Brian uses this opportunity to propose to her. Of course, Brian assumes that she's gonna die soon and he'll be able to use his selfless proposal to a dying girl as a way to impress future girlfriends. However, Jess's doctor announces that her cancer has gone into remission ''right after the wedding'', and [[UnwantedSpouse Brian is forced to live with a woman he never really wanted to stay with]].

** Another episode of ''Family Guy'', "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS17E1MarriedWithCancer Married... with Cancer]]", has Brian date Jess, a woman with cancer. Once her doctor announces that her cancer is terminal and she's due to die in days. Upon hearing this, she cries about the fact that she will never be able to get married, and Brian uses this opportunity to propose to her. Of course, Brian assumes that she's gonna die soon and he'll be able to use his selfless proposal to a dying girl as a way to impress future girlfriends. However, Jess's doctor announces that her cancer has gone into remission ''right after the wedding'', and Brian is forced to live with her forever.

** Another episode of ''Family Guy'', "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS17E1MarriedWithCancer Married... with Cancer]], has Brian date Jess, a woman with cancer. Once her doctor announces that her cancer is terminal and she's due to die in days. Upon hearing this, she cries about the fact that she will never be able to get married, and Brian uses this opportunity to propose to her. Of course, Brian assumes that she's gonna die soon and he'll be able to use his selfless proposal to a dying girl as a way to impress future girlfriends. However, Jess's doctor announces that her cancer has gone into remission ''right after the wedding'', and Brian is forced to live with her forever.

See also MetaphoricalMarriage when the couple can't get married legally, but they have an unofficial wedding-like ceremony and consider themselves as good as married.

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!!Examples

* In ''Anime/AngelBeats'', Hinata proposes marriage to Yui to fulfill her final wish and allow her to move on from Purgatory.

[[folder:FanFiction]]

* ''Film/IndependenceDay'': Just before Steven Hiller goes on his incredibly dangerous mission to implant the computer virus in the alien mothership, he finally marries his girlfriend.

* In ''Film/LoveAndDeath'', Sonya agrees to marry her nebbish cousin Boris because he's been challenged to a duel and fully expects that he'd be killed, and she figures that she can do him a simple kindness. She's a bit taken aback when he actually survives and she actually has to live with him.
* In ''Film/TheAfricanQueen,'' Rose Sayer and Charlie Allnut are captured during their attempted bombing of the German warship. The German captain asks if they have a LastRequest before they're hanged, and they ask the captain to marry them.

* In both the book and film versions of ''Literature/AWalkToRemember'', a teenage boy discovers that his girlfriend is terminally ill so he proposes to her. They get married at the end of the story.

* In Heinlein's ''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'', the protagonist is rushed through a marriage (to a woman he almost certainly intended to marry anyway) because the following day, he's going to do something potentially suicidal but necessary.
* In ''Literature/CryTheBelovedCountry'', Absalom marries his pregnant girlfriend after he is sentenced to death.
* In ''[[Literature/TheObsidianTrilogy When Darkness Falls]]'' Idalia accepts Jermayan's marriage proposal after she's already learned she must willingly sacrifice herself to foil the demons' plot. [[SubvertedTrope Shortly thereafter, however,]] she's reincarnated as the daughter of the elven king, and as Jermayan is an elf as well, a JailbaitWait isn't a problem.

* In the historical novel ''Keeper of the Crystal Spring,'' Norman Lord Gandulf is in love with the Saxon peasant Aldyth. When they're trapped together in an oubliette, they exchange handfast vows because they're pretty sure they're going to die. This is sufficient, given the time period, for them to be regarded as legally married. [[spoiler:When they're able to escape, they properly marry later.]]

* On ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', a supernatural apocalypse prompted Xander to finally propose to Anya, who was hurt because she thought he was only proposing for this reason, and he'd never have to go through with it.
* William and Daisy are married in ''Series/DowntonAbbey'' Series 2, with William on his deathbed after his war wounds. It is PlayedForDrama since Daisy doesn't love William (she only sees him as a good friend), but she is pushed to the marriage by the rest of the staff. Later it's revealed that William wanted to marry her also for the sake of his widowed father who had no family left, so he could have a nice daughter-in-law.
* Cameron on ''Series/{{House}}'' once married a man that had been diagnosed as terminally ill with thyroid cancer. He died six months after their wedding.

** Unfortunately, it ''does'' happen later for [[spoiler:the same couple after they're actually engaged. Ingrid is bitten by a rabid dog, and as her mind starts to slip from the ravages of the illness, she pleads with Matthew to marry her before it takes her from him completely. He does.]]

* The average SoapOpera will occasionally churn out varying versions of this. Often, the supposedly dying person ''doesn't'' die, causing complications between their new spouse and whoever he/she had to ditch to enter into the union.
* Attempted in ''Series/DoctorWho''. In the First Doctor serial ''The Aztecs'', Susan is ordered to marry a man who is scheduled to be sacrificed. Naturally, she wants nothing to do with it.
* In the Season 2 finale of ''Series/RobinHood'', Robin and Marian start to say their wedding vows when they think they're going to die together, but are rescued before they can finish them. Near the end of the episode, [[spoiler: they finish them as Marian is dying for real.]]
** In an earlier episode, "Walkabout", Guy of Gisborne repeatedly asks Marian to marry him so they can escape the forthcoming destruction of Nottingham (as a promise made to the Sheriff by Prince John that the entire city will be destroyed if the Sheriff should die an unnatural death has been triggered when the Sheriff goes missing, but Gisborne himself and his immediate family will be spared). Marian refuses because she cannot abandon the people of Nottingham, and eventually Gisborne decides to stay and die by her side. As the guards close in, he implores her to marry him now, as there is still time to "steal that from them, at least", although he is interrupted by the return of the Sheriff.
* ''Series/TheBigLeap'': [[spoiler: Paula and Mike, since she knows she doesn't have much time left and the two are madly in love. It's a good thing too, since she only makes it a few weeks after the event before passing.]]

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy,'' Brian falls in love with an old woman. As she is in the hospital dying, he brings a virtual reality helmet for her to wear so she can see a long life married to him before she dies.

* In ''Anime/AngelBeats'', would Hinata proposing marriage to Yui to fulfill her final wish and allow her to move on from Purgatory count as an example of this trope?

* In ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', Hans claims that he married Anna as she lay on her deathbed, thus making him King of Arendelle. Yeah, this is why weddings require a witness. Circumstances being what they are, however, no one has any difficulty believing him.

* In V3 of the ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' comics Shadow Lass married Mon-El when he was dying (and he died an issue later). In this case, Shadow Lass initiated the marriage. Whether this is still in continuity is uncertain.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', Hans claims that he married Anna as she lay on her deathbed, thus making him King of Arendelle. Yeah, this is why weddings require a witness.

* ''Film/IndependenceDay''. Just before Steven Hiller goes on his incredibly dangerous mission to implant the computer virus in the alien mothership, he finally marries his girlfriend.

* In ''Film/ForrestGump'', Jenny marries Forrest because she knows she's dying.

* In ''Film/TheAfricanQueen'' Rose Sayer and Charlie Allnut are captured during their attempted bombing of the German warship. The German captain asks if they have a LastRequest before they're hanged, and they ask the captain to marry them.

* In ''[[Literature/TheObsidianTrilogy When Darkness Falls]]'' Idalia accepts Jermayan's marriage proposal after she's already learned she must willingly sacrifice herself to foil the demons' plot. [[SubvertedTrope Shortly thereafter, however,]] she's reincarnated as the daughter of the elven king, and as Jermayan is an elf as well a JailbaitWait isn't a problem.
* In ''Tomek wśród łowców głów'' (''Tom among the headhunters'') from Polish novel cycle by Alfred Szklarski, Tomek's love interest from Australia, Sally, marries him when she is seriously injured. [[spoiler:It was penultimate chapter ''Sally's last wish'' and she said that when he is hers, she can die, but nobody wanted to believe it and she really recovered soon.]]
* In the historical novel ''Keeper of the Crystal Spring,'' Norman Lord Gandulf is in love with the Saxon peasant Aldyth. When they're trapped together in an oubliette, they exchange handfast vows because they're pretty sure they're going to die. [[spoiler:When they're able to escape, they properly marry later.]]

* William and Daisy are married in ''Series/DowntonAbbey'' Series 2, with William on his death bed after his war wounds. It is PlayedForDrama since Daisy doesn't love William (she only sees him as a good friend), but she is pushed to the marriage by the rest of the staff. Later it's revealed William wanted to marry her also for the sake of his widowed father who had no family left, so he got him a nice daughter-in-law.

* Joseph Plunkett and Grace Evelyn Gifford got married mere hours before her husband's execution in 1916. Part of the Easter Uprising (1916), Joseph was sentenced to death by execution squad. Grace and Joseph were married in his jail cell about seven hours before his death. [[TheMourningAfter Grace never married again.]]

* In 2013 a lesbian couple was allowed to get married before the date that gay marriages were to be officially allowed in their state because one of the two had breast cancer and would be dead before the new law would go into effect. [[http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/11/28/Lesbian-couple-has-first-legal-same-sex-marriage-in-Illinois/UPI-65551385653496/ Read more here.]]
* Quite possibly the reason Francis I of France allowed his daughter, Madeleine of Valois to marry James V of Scotland. She died 6 months later from tuberculosis.

* Joseph Plunkett and Grace Evelyn Gifford got married mere hours before her husband's execution in 1916. Part of the Easter Uprising (1916), Joseph was sentenced to death by execution squad. Grace and Joseph were married in his jail cell about seven hours before his death. Grace never married again.

* ''Film/TheNormalHeart'': Given that [[spoiler: Felix]] was dying of AIDS and he requests that [[spoiler: Ned]] be the executor of his will, he decides to marry [[spoiler: Ned]] with Ben and Emma as their witnesses with the latter also officiating their commitment ceremony although gay marriage wasn't legal or a possible option in the 1980s, where the movie and play are both set.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldofGumballS1E5TheEnd The End]]", Gumball and Darwin [[MistakenForApocalypse believe the world is going to end in a day]], so Gumball tries to marry his crush, Penny, in the school hallway, apparently without even proposing first. [[RealityEnsues She responds by pointing out the problem with this and the fact they're just twelve]], but says she'd be open to him trying this again in like twenty years, which Gumball accepts... before he immediately proposes to the nearest girl after Penny walks off.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldofGumballS1E5TheEnd The End]]", Gumball and Darwin [[MistakenForApocalypse believe the world is going to end in a day]], so Gumball tries to marry his crush, Penny, in the school hallway, apparently without even proposing first. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome She responds by pointing out the problem with this and the fact they're just twelve]], but says she'd be open to him trying this again in like twenty years, which Gumball accepts... before he immediately proposes to the nearest girl after Penny walks off.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldofGumballS1E5TheEnd The End]]", Gumball and Darwin [[MistakenForApocalypse believe the world is going to end in a day]], so Gumball tries to marry his crush, Penny, in the school hallway, apparently without even proposing first. [[RealityEnsues She responds by pointing out the problem with this and the fact they're just twelve]], but says she'd be open to him trying this again in like twenty years, which Gumball accepts... before he immediately proposes to the nearest girl after Penny walks off.