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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.”
About the Author: Megan Finley Horowitz
When Megan's not writing, traveling, and sleeping, she's eating like the fate of the world depends on it. (You're welcome, world!) You can snoop into her personal life over on her website The Dash and Dine!
What a fun wedding! I’m really digging the pink dress and the mariachi music.
Congrats on the nuptials. I laughed, I cried, I squeed.
Wishing you guys a long and happy life together. 🙂
Congrats gals! Looks like it was fun. And Liz, you are a hoot. I was reading the article and giggling. I’ll have to read your other articles and watch your video later. I can’t have them peaking their heads in to find out what I’m giggling at when I’m at work!
Congrats again!
Congratulations, Jo and Liz! 🙂
I personally come from a family who rocks AND rolls, I thought my wedding was “special” (*rim shot*) because there were six people in wheelchairs there, but you guys totally have me beat. That said, we definitely didn’t have enough personal assistants to require their own pen (just one table of their own) and the only dog was our flower girl. She couldn’t guide her own way out of a wet paper bag, let alone serve as guiding eyes to anyone else, so imagine me doing the Wayne and Garth “We’re not worthy!”at the thought of the spectacular smartpants assistance dogs who attended your wedding!
We only had one dead guest/best man-in-another-realm that I know of, but I am so touched and pleased for you realizing how you went out of your way to invite your all loved ones to party with you in body and spirit. What I’m trying to say is, you don’t know how happy it makes me to see a wedding that embodies everything everything that mattered most at my own nuptials multiplied by the power of awesome at yours.
Just know that one person out here in cyberspace whom you’ll probably never meet saw this and GOT IT and wishes you both all the happiness in the world, forever free from “barricades of bums.”
Anyone else? If you haven’t watched their video? Go! I just watched all thirteen minutes and 22 seconds of their wedding dance video/Dirty Dancing parody and wept the entire time. Except for the watermelon/knitting/texting/sombrero sequence. Then I laughed AND cried.
Go! Go now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g06Erh4ZyOI
The wedding video was amazing. The dedication to Dirty Dancing was awesome. Seriously, i loved it.
😀 I had a huge smile on my face the hole time! Definitely squee worthy!!
so lovely. This made me feel all the feels. I actually shared your vid with others, which I don’t usually do with wedding vids. Wishing you both all the very best in your marriage/partnership.
What a fab wedding and a great video. Looks like a great time was had by all!