At a Glance
- Grace Kennedy and Evan Knaff moved their May 2026 wedding to November 2025 after doctors warned his glioblastoma was accelerating.
- The couple wed before 115 guests at Stella of New Hope; Knaff used a wheelchair but danced in it all night.
- Knaff died less than three weeks later on December 9, 2025.
Why it matters: Their story spotlights the human cost of underfunded brain-cancer research and the power of love under pressure.
Grace Kennedy, 26, and Evan Knaff, 27, had circled May 9, 2026, on their calendar. Late August 2025 shattered that plan. Doctors at Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience told the couple Knaff’s grade 4 H3G34 mutant diffuse hemispheric glioma-glioblastoma-was “growing aggressively” and outpacing chemotherapy. The news forced a three-month scramble to wed.
Kennedy left the final call to Knaff. “He wanted a wedding that reflected what we had envisioned,” she tells News Of Losangeles. She emailed the venue and photographer; every vendor kept the new date.
Planning felt simple compared with three years of hospital corridors. Kennedy calls the design phase-florals, signage, favors-“my favorite part.” Hunting RSVPs was her least.
The Big Day
On November 22, 2025, 115 friends and relatives arrived at Stella of New Hope in New Hope, Pennsylvania. The morning unfolded at the adjacent Carriage House: wedding party hair and makeup in side-by-side suites, laughter drifting through the walls.
Kennedy and Knaff chose a private first look. “We felt giddy, present, and deeply excited,” she says. Portraits focused only on them-no intruding lenses, no ticking clock.
An outdoor ceremony faced the Delaware River. Guests took seats; Knaff rolled down the aisle in his wheelchair. He had set aside the cane days earlier when standing became impossible. Vows were read seated, hands intertwined.
Inside the barn, long tables glowed with taper candles and autumn foliage. Toasts followed dinner.
- Best man Dave delivered what Kennedy calls “a devastatingly beautiful speech,” leaving few dry eyes.
- Kennedy’s maid of honor recalled the couple’s first meeting at a Philadelphia Phillies game.
- Both sets of parents thanked guests for packing the dance floor with love, not pity.
Then the music surged. Knaff spun across the floor in his chair, lights flickering pink and gold. During “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan, friends hoisted wheelchair and groom overhead. He belted the chorus to the crowd.
Final Weeks
The tumor advanced daily. Knaff entered hospice days after the wedding. Kennedy kept followers updated on TikTok, where three wedding posts have each topped one million views. Comments overflowed with donations to brain-cancer research and messages from strangers who lost loved ones to glioblastoma.
Knaff died on December 9, 2025, eighteen days after the reception. He was 27.
Kennedy plans to keep talking. “He deserves to be remembered,” she says. She also wants the world to see what happens “when funding is withheld from research and medical institutions-it has real consequences for real people.”
Key Takeaways
- The couple moved their 2026 wedding to 2025 after a terminal cancer diagnosis.
- Every original vendor accommodated the new date within three months.
- Kennedy’s social-media updates have drawn over three million views and new donor interest.
- Knaff’s death less than three weeks later underscores the urgency for glioblastoma research funding.
