A bride who lost her sight before her wedding day let her new husband and wedding guests "walk in her shoes" by blindfolding them as she walked down the aisle.<br /><br />Lucy Edwards, 27, began losing her sight at the age of 11 and six years later went completely blind.<br /><br />She met her partner, Ollie Cave, 27, a VFX artist, in 2015 before losing her sight and the couple got engaged in June 2018.<br /><br />When planning their wedding, Lucy wanted her husband-to-be and their guests to experience their ceremony in the same way she would - so blindfolded them all as she walked down the aisle.<br /><br />At the end, Ollie felt her wedding dress to take it all in before taking his blindfold off to lay eyes on his wife-to-be.<br /><br />Lucy, a content creator and broadcaster, from Birmingham, West Midlands, said: “I didn’t think I’d be a blind bride when I met Ollie.<br /><br />"I was the happiest I’d ever been on my wedding day, but also the saddest.<br /><br />“I only told a few people about the blindfolding - there was a consensus about it not being traditional.<br /><br />“But they were shocked at how sensory it was. By the end of the main ceremony, everyone’s blindfolds were wet with tears."<br /><br />Lucy was rushed to hospital at eight years old after a routine appointment with an optician.<br /><br />She was diagnosed with incontentia pigmenti at four years old - a rare genetic skin condition which can cause a person to lose their vision.<br /><br />She originally lost sight in her right eye at the age of 11 - but, by 17, she was totally blind.<br /><br />By this point, she’d been dating her now-husband, Ollie, for a matter of months - but Lucy realised she wouldn’t be able to see her wedding day.<br /><br />“I was sighted when we first got together,” Lucy said.<br /><br />“But there was always this looming prospect that one day I’d lose my vision.<br /><br />“I had to tell myself it was a possibility - but I still thought ‘nope. It’ll never happen.’<br /><br />“I had hope.”<br /><br />She set the wedding date for August 31, 2023, and, in 2022, she decided she didn’t want her friends and family to see her walking down the aisle.<br /><br />While friends and family worried she’d be missing out on her big moment - she thought it was more important for them to experience the "bittersweetness" she’s felt for her sight loss over the last 10 years.<br /><br />“My family were concerned I’d be missing out on my moment,” she said.<br /><br />“Which would’ve been everyone seeing me walking down the aisle.<br /><br />“Grief hits you in different ways - and it was important for them to experience that, when I’ve been living it every day.”<br /><br />Lucy still grieves the loss of her sight - even 10 years on. But she tries to remain as positive as she can.<br /><br />She said: “One of the gifts blindness has given me is the ability to see.<br /><br />“I tried to look at all the positives of the day - I’m not about that negative energy.<br /><br />“My dress was really tactile - and we found a really accessible wedding venue.<br /><br />“I could feel the glitter under the chiffon of my dress - and each individual flower.<br /><br />"When I heard the echoes in the venue - I didn’t even need to see it.”
