Liz, a bride with Cerebral Palsy, and her wife Jo threw a pretty incredible party. Some details include… one bride in pink, the other in blue, a Dia de los Muertos theme, and a confetti-filled pinata beaten into submission by a blind friend.
The BBC did a post about their “wheelie special wedding.”AND it’s especially good reading if you’re looking for tips on throwing a disability-friendly wedding. Take this excerpt, for example…
There were 170 guests present, at least half of whom were disabled. The room was like a health and safety time bomb and the seating plan a logistical nightmare. The wheelies and blinkies had to have enough space to move about freely. Our deaf friends had to sit near the front so they could lip read. The agoraphobics needed to sit at the back so they could escape. The assistance dogs had their own pen, as did the personal assistants. There isn’t a wedding planning book in existence that could have prepared us for this.As the reception began, we drank margaritas, were serenaded by a sombrero wearing Mariachi band and ate Mexican food. With so many disabled people present, even choosing a buffet option was a huge gamble; how do you hold a plate, dish up some guacamole and wheel along at the same time? What if you’re on crutches? If you’re blind, is it like buffet Russian Roulette? With an over eager line up of waiters trained to assist, there were thankfully few casualties.
Both of us were dreading the traditionally awkward wedding dance. People would be wondering how exactly Jo and I dance together; would Jo get down on her knees and hold me close or perhaps scoop me up in her arms and whisk me around the floor? We decided to really give them something to talk about.
So we signed up for dance classes and filmed the result, negating the need to perform on the day. We chose Time of my Life from Dirty Dancing. In the film, Patrick Swayze lifts his dance partner above his head. In our version, the local fire brigade lifted me aloft in my wheelchair…
For more wedding pics, colorful details, and things to consider for making your friends with disabilities more comfortable, check out Liz and Jo’s “wheelie special wedding.”
Related Post
Natalie & Tim’s green-filled access-a-wedding
This wedding has all the D’s: an awesome dog, a handmade dress, art gallery-style personalized decor, and a focus on disability. The pair also came up with a very cool way to combine their two families in a musical way. Oh, and just try to contain your FEELS when you hear what the bride’s dad…
