Couple Has Hospital Bedside Wedding So 97-Year-Old Grandmother Can Attend
After Emma Jones broke her hip and ended up in the hospital the day of her grandson's wedding, the couple decided to bring the nuptials to her
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A stock image of a hospital bed; a stock image of a bride and groomA New Jersey couple had to get creative when the groom's grandmother ended up in the hospital on the day of their wedding.
George Jones and Esumi Fujimoto planned to include his 97-year-old grandmother, Emma Jones of Linden, in their March 16 ceremony by making her a flower girl, they told ABC 7 New York. However, Emma fell and broke her hip just before the nuptials were set to take place.
After she ended up having to spend her grandson's actual wedding day at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Rahway, nursing director Christine Meo and the hospital's Patient Experience Department decided to figure out a different way for the grandmother to take part in the special occasion.
In a sweet video shared on TikTok by the ABC affiliate station, George and Fujimoto could be seen in their wedding attire — with Jones wearing a classic black suit and Fujimoto in her white dress, complete with a veil and gold hair pinnings. Emma watched as the couple stood next to her hospital bed and recited their vows for the second time that week, with a nurse leading the repeat ceremony.
After finishing their vows, the couple leaned down to give Emma a kiss — finally making everyone feel included in the ceremony.
"I now pronounce you married," the make-shift officiant said in the short clip. "You may now kiss the bride."
In a similar story earlier this month, nurses at a Lubbock, Texas, hospital teamed up with a local event planning company to throw an impromptu wedding on March 8 for bride Michelle Avila, whose father, Jose Antonio Avila, was in the intensive care unit. Jose's health was rapidly declining and he expressed his hope of seeing his daughter get married before he died.
A small area of the hospital was decorated with flowers and balloons, and nurses dressed Jose in a sport coat for the special occasion. Michelle and her now-husband Antonio Moreno then exchanged vows in front of her father in an emotional moment.
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Michelle later shared a photo from the touching ceremony on Facebook as she expressed her appreciation for the "kind-hearted" people who helped make her ailing father's wish a reality.
"We were surprised by a beautiful wedding by the most amazing people. I went back later that night to talk to my dad and [I'm] thankful I did," she wrote, before revealing the news of Jose's death.
"It was so nice to hear him talk about how overjoyed he was. By 3/9 his health took a turn for the worse and I was no longer able to hear his voice. Sadly, today he passed and we feel a peace that surpasses understanding even within the midst of grief," Michelle continued, adding, "It gives our hearts peace in knowing his last wish was fulfilled."
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