"Honoring My Sister and Best Friend: Taking Their Cutouts as Maids of Honor Down the Aisle After Their Tragic Loss"

WITH my sister Randi’s help, I climbed back into bed.

‘Can I get you something to eat?’ she asked.

Alyssa Stout, 28, had always known who she’d have as her maids of honour Credit: Supplied Alyssa with her sister Randi Credit: Supplied

I’d recently been in a minor car accident.

While I hadn’t broken anything, I was still really sore, and Randi was taking care of me.

Randi was just three years older, and we were so close. We loved watching together, and I totally idolised my big sister.

Not long after, during my first year of university, I returned home 
for Mother’s Day.

The whole family went out for lunch and took a ride in Randi’s new car.

‘Fancy coming out tonight?’ she asked me later. ‘My mate’s just got a new job so we’re going to celebrate.’

‘I’d love to but I’m so tired,’ I said. ‘Have fun though.’ At 1am, I woke to my dad standing in my bedroom doorway.

‘Randi’s been in a car accident,’ he told me. ‘We have to get to the hospital.’

Alyssa with her best friend, Mallory Credit: Supplied Her best friend sadly passed away following a car crash Credit: Supplied

To begin with, I didn’t panic. I was thinking about how Randi had helped me through my own recovery a few months earlier.

Maybe this will be my chance to return the favour, I thought. But when we got to the hospital it was clear something was very wrong.

We were taken into a side room and a doctor explained they couldn’t tell us anything until our whole family had arrived.

My brother lived 45 minutes away, and the wait was excruciating.

When he got there, the doctor confirmed our 
worst fears.

‘I’m so sorry, Randi didn’t make it,’ the doctor said.

My brother, my two other sisters and I all wrapped ourselves around Mum in a hug. We held each other and cried.

The doctor explained Randi had come off the road at a turn on her drive home.

Alyssa made sure her friends were going to be at her wedding Credit: supplied She decided to make real life size cut out boards of them Credit: Supplied

No one else had been hurt, 
but she’d died at the scene. The next few days were a blur of grief.

She’d been loved by so many and everyone was devastated.

‘You know, she always said you’d be her maid of honour when she got married,’ one of her best friends told me.

That meant so much to hear. But it was heartbreaking at the same time.

My parents encouraged me to go back to university, as it’s what Randi would have wanted.

I was a wreck, but my bestie and roommate Mallory was there to support me.

We’d been joined at the hip since we’d met during freshers’ week.

Over the next year, she was 
my rock. Mallory always seemed to know when I was down.

Alyssa was left heartbroken after discovering the news about her sister Credit: Supplied She has shared her story on her social media TikTok page Credit: supplied

She’d knock on my door and suggest popping Say Yes to the Dress on the TV also one of her favourite shows.

One day she found me in tears in the kitchen.

‘How can I get married without Randi there to be my maid of honour?’ I sobbed.

‘I’ll be your maid of honour,’ Mallory vowed, squeezing my hand.
Over the next few years, the two of us got closer.

A few years after I lost Randi, Mallory told me how worried she’d been about me.

‘I never told you, but 
I used to outside your room sometimes,’ 
she said.

‘That’s how you always knew when I was crying!’ 
I replied, tears welling. ‘I don’t know how I would have got through it without 
you, Mal.’

When we were in our early 20s, I told her about a 
guy I’d been chatting to 
on .

Alyssa’s husband-to-be Damarius Credit: Supplied Alyssa with her son Amari Credit: Supplied

His name was Damarius.

‘He looks cute and we’ve been speaking for months, but I don’t think we’ll ever actually meet,’ I said.

‘You might as well see him one time!’ she replied. ‘Only if you come with me,’ I told her.

And in the end, all three of us went to a bar together.

Damarius seemed nice in person, but both Mallory and I burst out laughing when he asked if we wanted to see a magic trick.

‘Trust me, you might be surprised!’ he said.

And although Mallory and I were giggling, I had to admit, the tricks blew my mind.

‘No way!’ I exclaimed, as he produced the card I’d selected from his mouth.
After we left, Mallory grinned.

‘You want to see him again, don’t you?’ she said.

It wasn’t long before we were officially . A year later, Mallory started seeing someone herself.

We had a silly falling out when we were moving out of our shared flat. But we were back in contact soon enough.

‘Hey, I’m having a house warming party,’ I told her over the phone. ‘I’d love it if 
you came.’

‘Sure, can’t wait!’ she replied. I was so pleased we’d made up 
and couldn’t wait to show her my new place.

The morning of the party, I woke to see my friend Hawk was calling me.

‘Have you heard?’ he asked.

‘Heard what?’ I said sleepily.

‘I’m so sorry to tell you this,’ he said, ‘Mallory died in a car crash last night.’

The world seemed to stand still.

‘This can’t be happening again,’ I replied, breaking down. The pain was unbearable.

Hawk explained Mallory had been in the car with her boyfriend and his family when they’d come off the road after missing an exit.

Everyone came away uninjured, except Mallory, who had died on impact.

‘What can I do to help?’ Damarius asked, as he held me.

‘There’s nothing!’ I told him, shaking with tears. ‘Why did it have to 
be her?’

Over the next few months, Damarius supported me through my grief.

I also bonded with Mallory’s family. But nothing would bring my best pal back.

Two years after her death, Damarius and I had a son named Amari.

He was everything to me. I just wished he could have met Randi and Mallory.

Then on Valentine’s Day, the year after Amari was born, Damarius took me out to dinner and proposed.

‘Of course I will marry you,’ 
I said, wrapping my arms around him.

I was over the moon. But my thoughts quickly turned to my two maids of honour – Randi and Mallory.

I knew at once that I’d have to find some way to include them. Thinking on it, an idea formed.

I knew at some funerals people displayed a cardboard cutout of the deceased.

Maybe I could bring cutouts of Mallory and Randi to my wedding as my maids of honour? I thought.

Damarius loved my plan, so I jumped into action, choosing which pictures to use.

‘I’d better not pick a bad photo of either of them, or they’ll haunt me,’ I giggled.

When I finally got the cutouts home, I showed them to Amari. ‘This is your Aunt Randi and my best friend Mallory,’ I said.

He toddled up to them and gave them both kisses. That made me a bit emotional.

From then on, I kept thinking of new ways to involve the cutouts in my wedding.

I decided they’d accompany me to my dress fitting as well, and my mum and I worked out a Velcro system so they could have outfit changes on the big day!

Damarius and I are now getting married next March.

I’ve been joking that I’ve been ‘ghosted’ by my two maids of honours before my wedding.

I know Mallory and Randi would see the funny side.

In fact, I bet the pair of them are looking down and laughing.

And on my big day, I’ve no doubt they’ll be right by my side in spirit.