Chelsie Hill always imagined herself walking down the aisle on her wedding day. But after a tragic car accident in 2010 paralyzed her from the waist down, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do so.
Chelsie went to a party as a high school student and got into a car with a friend who had had too much to drink. The vehicle collided with a tree, paralyzing her from the waist down.
Chelsie began dancing at the age of three and was competing by the age of five. But, at 17, after doctors told her she’d never walk again, Chelsie realized she didn’t just walk; she also danced.
As a result, in 2012, she established Rollettes, a wheelchair dance group in Los Angeles, to demonstrate that “dance is dance, whether you’re walking or rolling.”
Chelsie, 29, put on her wedding gown and prepared to walk down the aisle to surprise her then-husband-to-be, Jay Bloomfield, 34, on their wedding day, 11 years after the accident.
Chelsie used leg braces and a walker covered in white fabric to pull off the surprise. Her Galia Lahav custom bridal gown had a removable skirt to make the transition from standing to sitting easier.
Chelsie met Jay in 2014, and the couple will marry on September 24, 2021, at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach. The groom, on the other hand, had no idea that his bride had planned something extra special for their wedding day.
“I want to emphasize that there is nothing wrong with sitting in your chair,” Chelsie said to Insider. “However, as a child, I always imagined myself walking down the aisle.”
“And I just wanted to feel that heart to heart and stand up there eye to eye with him,” she added. “That was just something that was really important to me personally.”
Chelsie had arranged it so that Jay had his back turned to the aisle before she entered the ceremony. His jaw dropped when he turned around as he saw her walking to the altar with her father.
“I lost it. It took everything in me just to keep standing. I’m an emotional guy, and when I saw her, I was just blown away,” Jay recalled of the moment.
Chelsie told the outlet that walking down the aisle was one of her favorite moments of her wedding day. She said she felt like their “souls were locked in on each other” the whole time.
“After my accident, I wondered if I’d ever find someone who truly loved me for who I was. “You have fully accepted, honored, and adored all of me,” Chelsie said in her vows, which she shared on Instagram.
“I wanted to do something I had always wanted to do today.” Stand face to face with me as we make a lifelong commitment to each other.”
The bride’s surprise didn’t stop at the altar. Later on, at the reception, she and her dad delighted guests with a fun-filled father-daughter dance.
The pair started with a slow dance filled with twirls and hugs, before revving it up by dancing to a medley of upbeat hits, including Soulja Boy’s “Crank That,” MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This,” and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk.”
Chelsie posted a video of their epic dance on her YouTube channel. You can watch it here.
Later in the evening, Chelsie used her leg braces for her first dance with her husband, which she said was very “special” to them.
Watch Chelsie and Jay’s special day in the video below.