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 wasn’t 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 she’d 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 “dance is dance, whether you’re walking or rolling.”
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. “I want to stress that there’s nothing wrong with sitting down in your chair,” Chelsie told Insider. “But for me growing up, I always imagined myself walking down the aisle.”
“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,” added the female witness. “That was just really something really important to me personally.” 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.
“I have lost it. It took everything I had to stay upright. “I’m an emotional guy, and when I saw her, I was just blown away,” 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 “souls were locked in on each other” the entire time.
“After my injuries, I questioned if I’d ever find someone who truly loved me for who I was. Chelsie told Jay in her vows, which she posted on Instagram, “You have accepted me completely, honored me, and adored all of me.” “Today, I wanted to achieve something I’d always wanted to do. Stand face to face with you as we make a lifelong commitment to one another.”