A woman has finally wed the love of her life in a dream wedding, herself.
Dorothy “Dottie” Fideli from Ohio married herself at her Retirement Home in a full-blown wedding with her friends and family.
She donned a beautiful white wedding gown and a veil on her wedding day and walked down the aisle in front of all the people who had previously told her it was too late to have the wedding of her dreams.
“This is something I’ve always wanted,” she told WLWT5. “I wanted to get married and have a happy life, but things didn’t work out that way and now I have a second chance in doing something that’ll make me happy.”
The mum-of-three, and a grandmother, got married for the first time in a courthouse in 1965. However, the marriage didn’t last long, and nine years later, Dorothy divorced.
The 77-year-old initially got the idea to marry herself from her neighbors, who saw another woman doing something similar on TV.
In an interview with Today, Dorothy recalled her first wedding, “I wore a black dress, so I was doomed before I got started.”
According to Dorothy, her ex-husband went to work right after their courthouse wedding, and she went home. It was never a happy marriage. So, after all these years, she finally decided to marry herself and fulfill her dream wedding wishes.
“I have been with myself for 40 years. Something just came over me one day in church that you ought to do something special for yourself. I said, you know what, I’ve done everything else. Why not? I’m going to marry myself.”
Dottie’s daughter, Donna Pennington, played a significant role in making her mum’s wish come true. When she heard about the wedding plan, she became excited and even cooked the wedding meal one day before. Donna also decorated the community room of Dottie’s retirement home, the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Home in Ohio.
“This is something new for me. I’ve never gotten married like this before,” she told NBC affiliate KCEN. “It’s emotional for me, because this is something I’ve always wanted.”
The wedding ceremony began at 3 pm in the community hall of Dottie’s retirement home. She wore brand-new white sneakers underneath her wedding gown and was officiated by the retirement home’s property manager.
According to Today, the mum-of-three also held a white lily as a symbol of self-love.
“I said, ‘Everybody takes this outside lily. And they live their life and they think they’re happy and everything’s going to be hunky-dory, but they don’t consider the inside, the little petals inside,” she recalled to Today.
“‘The inside is what’s important. That’s where God’s love flows,’” she added. “‘That’s where he gives you wisdom and he gives you hope. And nobody ever takes time to think about that. So that’s what I’ve done, and I’d appreciate it if all of you people would do it and think of it that way.’”
The guests were served with heart-shaped cookies and finger sandwiches. Dorothy also cut a two-tiered white cake patterned with red rose petals.
“Love, love is the most important thing in this world, and if you love God and love yourself, this world will be a field of roses. If it’s not in the cards for them, then there’s something out there that will make them happy and find themselves in life and fulfill their soul,” she told NBC affiliate WLWT5.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.