Highway patrol officer stands in at wedding

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (WPVI) -- He's not going to make it here.

That is what a California bride found out about her father a day before her wedding.

Amanda Rabe told KTXL-TV her dad still suffers from a spinal cord and brain injury after he was shot in the line of duty several years ago. To this day he still suffers from severe migraines, which cause him to pass out.

Amanda rabe says it's normal for him.

She said, "we're very used to it. TSA wasn't."

So TSA wouldn't allow him to fly from their home in Idaho, to California, for his daughters most important day of her life her wedding day.

Califoronia Highway Patrolman Jake Steel said "her magic day, they planned for a her father to be there. it was years in the making. and last minute, he couldn't make it. and they needed somebody to stand in for him."

So a tight-knit law enforcement circle got to work and put out a BOLO for a stand-in for the brides father.

and steel was ready.

Literally, an hour before her wedding, Amanda got a phone call from her mom.

"Hey i pulled some strings. i was able to get a hold of some people and they found some people... you actually have a chippie walking you down the aisle, and your dad is so happy that somebody there can do that for him."

Amanda and stand-in dad Jake, met at a riverside winery, minutes before the ceremony.

"A very proud moment. there to help somebody out at their magic moment in time."

Amanda says "he showed up with his two beautiful children... that was pretty amazing."

To top an already incredible day, Jake even stepped in for the father-daughter dance.

"There were tears the minute it started."

Amanda's sister had prepared the special song for that tender moment.

She said, "so that was very special to me."

When Jake was a teen, he lost his father, a CHP sergeant, to a head-on collision caused by a wrong way driver.

Amanda said, "he also knows exactly how that feels to have his dad miss his special moments."

Jake added, "i was immersed in Amanda's life for a small moment, yet it seemed like an eternity."

They say this wedding day has bonded them for life.

Jake said, "it was absolutely like being taken into the family. so it made me feel great for what i did."

Amanda added, "it was wonderful to have him there. i don't think words can ever describe having somebody just completely wrap you in their love and share that moment with you."