A bride who lost her sight before her wedding day, blindfolded guests on her big day so they could ‘walk in her shoes’ and experience the wedding just like she did.
What caused her blindness?
Lucy Edwards, 27, began to go blind at the age of 11 due to incontentia pigmenti – a rare genetic skin condition.
She started losing vision in her right eye then it deteriorated rapidly at the age of 17.
Lucy met her partner, Ollie Cave, in 2015 just before she lost her sight completely. The couple got engaged in June 2018.
‘I was sighted when we first got together,’ Lucy, a content creator and broadcaster, from Birmingham, West Midlands, said.
‘But there was always this looming prospect that one day I’d lose my vision.‘I had to tell myself it was a possibility – but I still thought: “Nope. It’ll never happen.”‘I didn’t think I’d be a blind bride when I met Ollie.’
The couple set the wedding date for August 31, 2023, and in 2022 Lucy decided she didn’t want her friends and family to see her walking down the aisle.
Experiencing the bittersweetness
Instead, Lucy thought it was important for them to experience the ‘bittersweetness’ she’s felt for her sight loss over the last 10 years.
‘My family were concerned I’d be missing out on my moment,’ she said.
‘Which would’ve been everyone seeing me walking down the aisle.
‘Grief hits you in different ways – and it was important for them to experience that, when I’ve been living it every day.’
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Lucy and Ollie ensured their wedding was as sensory as possible and hired out three conservatories at Kew Gardens for £12,000.
The bride then made sure her guests were blindfolded as she walked down the aisle to ‘Arrival of the Birds’ – part of the ‘Theory of Everything’ film score.
She said: ‘As I walked down the aisle, the instruments got to a crescendo. You could smell the flowers, too – it was quite overwhelming for everyone.
A sad, but poignant moment
‘I think people were shocked at just how much they could hear.
‘It was a sad moment – but really poignant. I’ve never felt two conflicting emotions so deeply.
‘My chest was heaving – but at the same time, I was absolutely buzzing. I had butterflies because I was marrying the man I love.’
Lucy said: ‘Kew is so sensory and flat, with great access for disabled people. I worked closely with a brand to make sure there was lots of signage all around the venue – which had QR codes that gave people audio descriptions.
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‘Our place setters were written in Braille for the meal – and we had lots of sensory food.’
Recalling his wedding day, Ollie added: ‘The moment when we all blindfolded ourselves was one of the most emotional I’ve ever been.
‘We really wanted to make this moment something that was equal for the both of us and I wouldn’t have ever changed the way we did it. For that brief moment, everyone was experiencing my Lucy’s world.’
