A bride who lost her sight before her wedding day let her new husband and wedding guests "walk in her shoes" by blindfolding them as she walked down the aisle.

Lucy Edwards, 27, began losing her sight at the age of 11 and six years later went completely blind.

She met her partner, Ollie Cave, 27, a VFX artist, in 2015 before losing her sight and the couple got engaged in June 2018.

When planning their wedding, Lucy wanted her husband-to-be and their guests to experience their ceremony in the same way she would - so blindfolded them all as she walked down the aisle.

At the end, Ollie felt her wedding dress to take it all in before taking his blindfold off to lay eyes on his wife-to-be.

Lucy, a content creator and broadcaster, from Birmingham, West Midlands, said: “I didn’t think I’d be a blind bride when I met Ollie.

"I was the happiest I’d ever been on my wedding day, but also the saddest.

“I only told a few people about the blindfolding - there was a consensus about it not being traditional.

“But they were shocked at how sensory it was. By the end of the main ceremony, everyone’s blindfolds were wet with tears."

Lucy was rushed to hospital at eight years old after a routine appointment with an optician.

She was diagnosed with incontentia pigmenti at four years old - a rare genetic skin condition which can cause a person to lose their vision.

She originally lost sight in her right eye at the age of 11 - but, by 17, she was totally blind.

By this point, she’d been dating her now-husband, Ollie, for a matter of months - but Lucy realised she wouldn’t be able to see her wedding day.

“I was sighted when we first got together,” Lucy said.

“But there was always this looming prospect that one day I’d lose my vision.

“I had to tell myself it was a possibility - but I still thought ‘nope. It’ll never happen.’

“I had hope.”

She set the wedding date for August 31, 2023, and, in 2022, she decided she didn’t want her friends and family to see her walking down the aisle.

While friends and family worried she’d be missing out on her big moment - she thought it was more important for them to experience the "bittersweetness" she’s felt for her sight loss over the last 10 years.

“My family were concerned I’d be missing out on my moment,” she said.

“Which would’ve been everyone seeing me walking down the aisle.

“Grief hits you in different ways - and it was important for them to experience that, when I’ve been living it every day.”

Lucy still grieves the loss of her sight - even 10 years on. But she tries to remain as positive as she can.

She said: “One of the gifts blindness has given me is the ability to see.

“I tried to look at all the positives of the day - I’m not about that negative energy.

“My dress was really tactile - and we found a really accessible wedding venue.

“I could feel the glitter under the chiffon of my dress - and each individual flower.

"When I heard the echoes in the venue - I didn’t even need to see it.”