While some brides are crying into their veils on their wedding day over the fact that the cupcakes are "French vanilla instead of Tahitian vanilla and now everything is ruined and there is no point in even getting married anymore!"…this bride is happy just to be able to walk down the aisle with her father.
Gina Giaffoglione from McClelland, Iowa, was involved in a car accident six years ago that left her paralyzed from the waist down. As an accomplished athlete, the 27-year-old worked hard to stay fit despite her disability, and soon after her accident she met her now-husband, John Springhower.
"He's just that wonderful of a guy that he doesn't see the chair. He just sees me for me and forgets about how I get around," Gina, told KETV7.
And that is why she was determined to walk down the aisle instead of rolling toward him on their wedding day, and she spent the next year and a half following their 2012 engagement learning to straighten her body and walk with a brace and crutch.
"I told her, 'Whether we roll down that aisle or whether we walk down that aisle, we're going to do this.' It's been her dream," said her dad, Gary Giaffoglione.
"I'm my dad's only girl, and I'm the baby. Dad deserves that," Gina added.
Prosthetic specialists from The Hanger Clinic even designed a special leg brace so it would be hidden discreetly underneath her wedding gown.
The only people who knew about Gina's tireless efforts to walk down the aisle was her groom and her close family, so the guests at their wedding got the surprise of a lifetime when she got out of the chair and started walking with her father by her side.
We're in tears just watching the video of her wedding day (and not just because Gina makes an absolutely gorgeous bride), so we can't imagine how the guests felt at the wedding watching it all happen in person. You can see in the footage that most of them are clearly very emotional.
Gina hopes her walk down the aisle will help inspire others to fully appreciate what they have in their own lives, no matter what obstacles come their way.
"I look at it as I might be having a bad day, but I'm having a day. I'm here. I'm having a day. This walk down the aisle might not be what I always envisioned it would be, but we're having a walk down the aisle. It's happening. You're here. You're blessed," she said. "And if I can help somebody in some way to maybe look at their life a little bit differently and be blessed to have their own day, that's why I'm having a day in my eyes."
You can read more about Gina's incredible journey at KETV's Brandi Petersen's blog, who called it "one of the most powerful stories of my career."