Chelsie Hill had always wanted to go down the aisle on her wedding day. But after a tragic car accident in 2010, which left her paralyzed from the waist down, she wasnāt sure she could do it. Chelsie went to a party in high school and got into a car with a friend who had drank too much. The truck hit a tree head on, instantly paralyzing her from the waist down.
Chelsie started dancing at three years old and was competing by the age of five. But at 17, when doctors told her sheād never be able to walk again, Chelsie learned she did more than just walk; she danced. So, in 2012, she founded Rollettes, a wheelchair dance company in Los Angeles, to show that ādance is dance, whether youāre walking or rolling.ā
Chelsie, 29, donned her bridal gown and prepared to go down the aisle to surprise her then-husband-to-be, Jay Bloomfield, 34, on their wedding day, 11 years after the accident. Chelsie pulled off the surprise using leg braces and a white fabric-covered walker. Her unusual Galia Lahav bridal gown has a removable skirt to make the transition from standing to sitting easier.
Chelsie and Jay met in 2014 and got married on September 24, 2021, at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach. However, the groom was unaware that his bride had arranged something extra special for their wedding day. āI want to stress that thereās nothing wrong with sitting down in your chair,ā Chelsie told Insider. āBut for me growing up, I always imagined myself walking down the aisle.ā
āAnd I just wanted to feel that ā not that my disability has taken anything away from me ā but I just wanted to feel that heart to heart and stand up there eye to eye with him,ā added the female witness. āThat was just really something really important to me personally.ā Chelsie had planned for Jay to have his back to the aisle when she entered the wedding. His jaw dropped when he turned around to see her walking to the altar with her father.
āI have lost it. It took everything I had to stay upright. āIām an emotional guy, and when I saw her, I was just blown away,ā Jay said of the encounter. Chelsie told the newspaper that walking down the aisle was one of her favorite aspects of her wedding day. She added that she believed their āsouls were locked in on each otherā the entire time.
āAfter my injuries, I questioned if Iād ever find someone who truly loved me for who I was. Chelsie told Jay in her vows, which she posted on Instagram, āYou have accepted me completely, honored me, and adored all of me.ā āToday, I wanted to achieve something Iād always wanted to do. Stand face to face with you as we make a lifelong commitment to one another.ā