A 77-year-old woman from Ohio, USA, named Dorothy “Dottie” Fideli, married herself in a wedding ceremony surrounded by neighbors, friends, and family. The wedding took place on May 13 at the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Community in Goshen, as reported by Today.com on Tuesday.
Dottie approached Rob Geiger, the property manager of her retirement home, and asked him to officiate the ceremony. When she explained her idea, Geiger gladly agreed to honor the 77-year-old who had always brought joy to others.
Dottie told Today, “I said, you know what, I’ve done everything else. Why not? I’m going to marry myself.” On her wedding day, she wore a white dress with long sleeves adorned with floral details, along with a silver belt and a veil featuring an embellished headband.
Reflecting on her emotions on the wedding day, Dottie mentioned feeling nervous initially but eventually became truly happy. When she first came up with the idea of marrying herself, she thought it would be just another one of her humorous acts to uplift the spirits of her fellow residents at the retirement home.
“I do some crazy things around here just to make people laugh. When I see them all down in the dumps, I go get one of my outfits on and dress up and come down, and they smile,” she shared with Today.
During the ceremony, Dottie held a white lily in her hand, using it as a symbol of cultivating self-love. She explained that people focus on the outer beauty and happiness but often neglect the inner aspects represented by the delicate petals of the flower.
Dorothy Fideli had been married once before, in 1965, but never had a formal wedding. She and her ex-husband exchanged vows at the justice of the peace, and shortly after the ceremony, he went to work while she returned home. She humorously added, “I wore a black dress, so I was doomed before I got started.”
Although Dottie had thought it was too late for her to have a big wedding, her dream came true, and she couldn’t thank her daughter enough for making it happen. She expressed her gratitude, saying, “This is the best thing that I’ve ever had, outside of having you kids. This is what I’ve always wanted, and I’m so happy that you (the daughter) gave it to me.”
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