![](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/comp-1695724150.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A bride who lost her sight before her wedding decided to blindfold guests on her big day, so they could \u2018walk in her shoes\u2019.<\/p>\n
Lucy Edwards, 27, began losing her sight at the age of 11, due to incontentia pigmenti \u2013 a rare genetic skin condition.<\/p>\n
As a pre-teen, she started losing sight in her right eye \u2013 but then it deteriorated more rapidly at the age of 17.<\/p>\n
Lucy met her partner, Ollie Cave, in 2015 just before before she lost her sight completely and the couple got engaged in June 2018.<\/p>\n
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5video<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/themes\/metro-parent\/img\/fallback.png\")
<\/p>\n
\u2018I was sighted when we first got together,\u2019 Lucy, a content creator and broadcaster, from Birmingham, West Midlands, said.<\/p>\n
\u2018But there was always this looming prospect that one day I\u2019d lose my vision.<\/p>\n
\u2018I had to tell myself it was a possibility \u2013 but I still thought: \u201cNope. It\u2019ll never happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d be a blind bride when I met Ollie.\u2019<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The couple set the wedding date for August 31, 2023, and in 2022 Lucy decided she didn\u2019t want her friends and family to see her walking down the aisle.<\/p>\n
Instead, Lucy thought it was important for them to experience the \u2018bittersweetness\u2019 she\u2019s felt for her sight loss over the last 10 years.<\/p>\n
\u2018My family were concerned I\u2019d be missing out on my moment,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Which would\u2019ve been everyone seeing me walking down the aisle.<\/p>\n
\u2018Grief hits you in different ways \u2013 and it was important for them to experience that, when I\u2019ve been living it every day.\u2019<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Lucy and Ollie ensured their wedding was as sensory as possible and hired out three conservatories at Kew Gardens for \u00a312,000.<\/p>\n
The bride then made sure her guests were blindfolded as she walked down the aisle to \u2018Arrival of the Birds\u2019 \u2013 part of the \u2018Theory of Everything\u2019 film score.<\/p>\n
She said: \u2018As I walked down the aisle, the instruments got to a crescendo. You could smell the flowers, too \u2013 it was quite overwhelming for everyone.<\/p>\n
\u2018I think people were shocked at just how much they could hear.<\/p>\n
\u2018It was a sad moment \u2013 but really poignant. I\u2019ve never felt two conflicting emotions so deeply.<\/p>\n
\u2018My chest was heaving \u2013 but at the same time, I was absolutely buzzing. I had butterflies because I was marrying the man I love.\u2019<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Ollie was also able to feel Lucy\u2019s wedding dress to take it all in before taking his blindfold off to lay eyes on his wife-to-be.<\/p>\n
The couple also ensured all other aspects of the wedding were accessible as possible.<\/p>\n
Lucy said: \u2018Kew is so sensory and flat, with great access for disabled people. I worked closely with a brand to make sure there was lots of signage all around the venue \u2013 which had QR codes that gave people audio descriptions.<\/p>\n
\u2018Our place setters were written in Braille for the meal \u2013 and we had lots of sensory food.\u2019<\/p>\n
Recalling his wedding day, Ollie added: \u2018The moment when we all blindfolded ourselves was one of the most emotional I\u2019ve ever been.<\/p>\n
\u2018We really wanted to make this moment something that was equal for the both of us and I wouldn\u2019t have ever changed the way we did it. For that brief moment, everyone was experiencing my Lucy\u2019s world.\u2019<\/p>\n