00:00Zach and Adam are wearing navy tweed suits.
00:03Zach has started to cry again.
00:05I just saw it as an opportunity for our guests to kind of have a glimpse of what it's like
00:10to be in my shoes for just a few minutes.
00:12In 2017, I found out I had a disease called pseudodermoceregrine,
00:15causing my nurse to no longer have life in them and leave me blind.
00:19It happened over the course of about six to eight weeks, so a very short amount of time.
00:23The toughest day-to-day changes to me were the small things that you've been doing all your life,
00:27navigating around on your own, fixing my hair the way that I wanted to on a normal basis.
00:32Zach and I, we met on a dating app, and I was very nervous about meeting him.
00:36I wanted to make sure he knew exactly what he was getting into with me and understand what my limitations
00:41were.
00:41She had on her profile that she lost her sight but not her vision, which I thought was really clever.
00:47And then she was like, I can't see. And I was like, that's okay.
00:50She's like, no, I really can't see. And I was like, well, I guess you won't be able to tell
00:53me if my clothes don't match.
00:55And that was pretty much it. It was just about, like, not focusing on what the limitations are,
01:00but trying to find other ways to make our life fully.
01:04When we talk about kind of filling in the blanks or the way that Zach encourages me or tells me
01:08things on a daily basis.
01:10It's kind of like being your own one-person radio show sometimes.
01:13All right, Katie. On your plate, you've got a bowl of soup with some crackers in it at, like, between
01:2212 and 6 o'clock.
01:23And then between 6 and 9 is a grilled cheese sandwich.
01:27Zach was naturally doing it at big events like that, you know, at weddings telling me what people are wearing,
01:36what the dresses look like, what the flowers look like.
01:38So I just saw it as an opportunity for our guests to kind of have a glimpse of what it's
01:44like.
01:44And at your seat, there is an eye mask. It's meant to be worn as a blindfold for part of
01:49today's ceremony.
01:50Now is the time to put those on. Do not worry. I will be with you. I will describe everything
01:57you are missing visually.
01:59Take a deep breath. Be in this moment. Be present.
02:07Katie and Zach are so glad that you are here. So be here.
02:13Zach, his father, Neil, and brother and best man, Adam, are now entering the ceremony area.
02:20Zach and Adam are wearing navy tweed suits.
02:25Zach has his long golden locks flowing with two braids on each side behind his ears.
02:33When I look at his hair, I'm jealous.
02:38Zach is crying.
02:41Katie's grandmother, Mama, is now making her way down the aisle.
02:45Mama is being escorted by Katie's cousin, Mac.
02:47Mama is wearing an eggplant colored skirt and matching jacket.
02:52While Max is in a navy suit looking sharp.
02:55Matron of honor and Katie's sister, Jenny, is now entering the ceremony.
02:59Along with Katie's niece, Mary Daniel.
03:02Zach has started to cry again.
03:05Ladies and gentlemen, please rise and remove your blindfolds.
03:11I think a lot of people were really surprised at how much it touched them or how much impact it
03:17had on just how they experience and think about what it's like.
03:20It was interesting to see their faces when they took their mask off, not only because Katie looks so beautiful
03:26in her wedding dress, but also to see like maybe what they had imagined from the audio description wasn't exactly
03:32what, you know, the actual image was.
03:35Now by authority given to me by the church and the state, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
03:42And Zach, you can kiss your bride.
03:46I don't know if you can see the plaque that's on the wall behind me.
03:49It's from a book called Hope Dudes, but it says celebrate the life you've been given, even if it looks
03:53different from the one you thought you would have.
03:56And I really lean into that and think about that quote a lot.
04:00I feel that this is the one life that we've been given.
04:04There are many ways that we can make it beautiful.
04:06We can make it special.
04:08You have an opportunity to turn your life around every single day.
04:11Take care.
04:15Take care.
