A woman whose grandmother couldn’t be there to watch her walk down the aisle relived her wedding day at her nursing home.
Hannah Macdonald – Ball, 27, from Scotland, tied the knot on May 1, 2023 to her longtime partner James Ball, 31, a wedding photographer.
But her 84-year-old grandmother Hazel Clarke, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2021, was unable to attend due to her mobility issues.
Two months after the big day, Hannah surprised her grandmother at her nursing home by wearing her wedding address.
As she walked out, Hannah was serenaded by residents who sang “she’s a really good guy” and said it was a “very special day.”
Hannah Macdonald – Ball, 27, from Scotland, married her longtime partner James Ball, 31, a wedding photographer, on May 1, 2023
Two months after the big day, Hannah surprised her grandmother at her nursing home by wearing her wedding address
Hannah, a wedding content creator, from Leytonstone, east London, said: ‘When we got engaged my grandmother was well enough to come to the wedding.
“Unfortunately she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in December and her condition deteriorated very quickly and we decided it was best for her not to come.
‘We got married in Scotland and she lives in Rufford, Ormskirk, it wouldn’t be feasible for her to come to the wedding.
“It was a very special moment that I have been looking forward to this big day for so long.
‘Putting on my veil and getting dressed again was a truly magical moment for me.’
Hannah has been with her husband James for six and a half years.
The couple got engaged in Loch Lomond in November 2021 as the sun rose and they eventually married in The Cruin, Loch Lomond, surrounded by their closest family and friends.
Hannah said, “It was the best day for both of us. We had been working on it for a year and a half, what a wonderful intimate day we had.
“All our favorite people were there, even the sun was shining when it was supposed to rain all day.”
Hannah wore a beautiful white dress with a plunging neckline and a long lace veil for her big day
Two months after her wedding day, Hannah called the nursing home and said she wanted to visit her grandmother in her wedding dress.
Hannah said being able to see her in her dress was “very special and a beautiful moment.”
Hannah revealed she would ‘always be sad’ that her grandmother wasn’t at her wedding – but said it was still a positive day she would always remember
Unfortunately, one of Hannah’s favorite people, her grandmother Hazel, a retired English secretary, was unable to attend the ceremony.
Hazel was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in December 2022 and since then the disease has rapidly deteriorated.
Two months after her wedding day, Hannah called the nursing home and said she wanted to visit her grandmother in her wedding dress.
She said: ‘We agreed to have prosecco and put on some music.
“I entered the room and everyone gestured that she is a very good fellow, and my grandmother was very happy.
“She kept saying sorry she couldn’t be there and that I looked beautiful, which was nice because she couldn’t be there.
“Anytime you visit a family member with an illness, you never know what it’s going to be like.
“The fact that I could see her in my dress was very special and a beautiful moment for both of us.
“It was emotion, I will always be sad that she wasn’t there, but it was the best thing we could have done.
‘We left the hotel with a very positive feeling. It was also great for my mother. It was very hard not being able to have her mother there.’