Bride walked down the aisle by man who received her father's heart

Arthur Thomas was honoured to walk Jeni Stepien down the aisle. Photo / KDKA

Ten years after her father was murdered, one Pennsylvania bride was given away on her wedding day by the man who was given his heart.

Jeni Stepien only met Arthur Thomas on the eve before she walked down the aisle, but she has known his heartbeat her whole life.

Thomas traveled to Pittsburgh from New Jersey so that Stepien could finally feel that pulse and hear that beat once again.

And so that she could have part of her dad Michael present on one of the most important days of her life.

"Just hugging him made me feel like I was close to my dad again," Stepien's sister Michelle said. "On this day it was perfect. It was what I needed."

But Stepien didn't just want Thomas to attend her wedding, she wanted him to be a part of her special day.

Thomas said she wrote him a sweet letter to ask if he would walk her down the aisle at the St Anselm Church in Swissvale.

And after he got the okay from his daughter, Thomas was more than happy to say yes.

"What a greater honour could a person have than walking the daughter of the man who's given his heart to him," Thomas told CBS Pittsburgh.

"I can't imagine a greater honour."

Stepien said it was the best day of her life, and that it felt as if her father was right there with her.

"I was just so thankful that my dad could be here with us today in spirit and a piece of his physical being as well," she said.

"That was really special for us."