The bride’s walk down the aisle is one of the most moving moments of the wedding ceremony for guests and family alike.
In this case, it was the most emotionally charged. Wedding guests were surprised to see Chelsie Hill, a paralyzed bride, walk down the aisle with the aid of a wheelchair because she has been paralyzed since 2010.
Her fiance-to-be Jay Bloomfield, according to Chelsie Hill, ‘hates’ surprises. Even so, she didn’t let that stop her from putting together a major surprise for him on the day of the wedding.
Hill had already made up her mind about how she wanted to exit her wedding ceremony: by walking down the aisle.
The Rollettes, a Los Angeles wheelchair dance team she founded after becoming paralyzed, now have her as their CEO and founder. With over 167,000 Instagram followers, she is a leading voice for people in wheelchairs.
Since 2014, she has worked for Bloomfield. The Wife of the Party planned their wedding at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach.
Hill said she’d always wanted to walk down the aisle on her wedding day, and she finally got her wish.
‘There’s nothing wrong with sitting down in your chair,’ Hill insisted to Insider. In contrast, ‘As a child, I always envisioned my future bride and groom walking down the aisle.’
That’s all she wanted, ‘and I just wanted to feel that—not that my disability has taken anything away from me.
But I just wanted to feel that heart-to-heart and stand up there eye-to-eye with him,’ she said. ‘It was something that really resonated with me on a personal level.’
Leg braces and a walker were used to help her achieve her goal. Because the skirt of her Galia Lahav wedding gown could be taken off, she was able to sit down more easily after the ceremony.
She accessorized with Verstolo rental jewelry and a matching veil by Galia Lahav. She had her hair done by Taylor Livesley, and her make-up was done by Landyn Alexa.
According to Hill, when Bloomfield saw her walking, his jaw dropped. Hill had Bloomfield face the aisle with his back to her as she walked down the aisle.
He looked back and saw his soon-to-be bride-to-be with her father. Hill recalls that when he first saw Jay, his jaw ‘dropped.’ Astonishment that she was walking, she said, because he had no idea.
When Asha Bailey, the couple’s wedding photographer, saw Bloomfield’s reaction, she created a TikTok video.
‘I just felt like our souls were locked in on each other during that time,’ Hill said. In fact, I couldn’t see anyone else in the area. Just now, I saw him.
My accident left me doubting my ability to find someone who could love me for the whole person I had become. To Bloomfield, Hill proclaimed in her vows: ‘You have accepted and honored me in all of my flaws.’
The surprises didn’t end at the altar for Hill. On her wedding day, she decided to include some choreographed surprises for her guests.
They stunned guests with a choreographed performance by Phil Wright and Hill, along with a number choreographed by Brinn Nicole for Bloomfield.
During their first dance together, which she described as ‘special,’ she wore her leg braces as well.
Hills’ reaction to the dance was: ‘Wow,’ he exclaimed. Despite her busy schedule, she says, Jay always makes her feel as if she has time to stop and smell the flowers.