Blind TV presenter Lucy Edwards blindfolded her wedding guests
When broadcaster, Lucy Edwards, 27, married her partner in August 2023 she 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.
Lucy met her partner, Ollie Cave, in 2015 before losing her sight. After getting engaged in June 2018 they wed on August 31 last year.
As a journalist, content creator, speaker and disability activist Lucy has made it her mission to share her experience of losing her full eyesight at only 17 to a rare genetic disease named Incontinentia Pigmenti. Lucy says she makes daily efforts to be inclusive and raise awareness and her wedding day was no different.
Speaking on the Auto Trader Show on The Road Podcast Lucy said: “At our wedding the guests were wearing blindfolds and experiencing me coming down the aisle in the same way I was. I used scents that changed as I walked up the aisle. So we knew where we were.
“And then everyone had different kinds of scents on them with their lapel flowers. I think scent is so guiding. My husband Ollie doesn't see blindness as a disability. He said, ‘Well, this is our world. This is our life. This is what we deal with together. I want to make a public stand that your world is lovely to be in’. Memories for me were made on my wedding day and that perfume will be forever in my mind and our guests mind.”
By sharing her experience online Lucy has amassed an incredible combined social media following of over 2.8 million. She is one of the leading voices in the diversity, equity and inclusion space worldwide.
While being interviewed on the Auto Trader podcast Lucy told host Alex Legouix: “I can't necessarily speak for a whole community of people, but what I do know is that I have a lot of blind friends and they do say that please don't change towards us because it's not something that is necessary. There’s been times when I go into different places and people are worried about talking to me, they just default to talking to Ollie as the sighted person.
“They’d say to him, ‘what does she want’? And he's like, well why don't you ask her? And that's still today in 2024. I have a billion views online and I’m also filming shows for the BBC to show that, yeah, I do travel and I do have a life and I do have a husband and a house and a mortgage.
“This is me now, I don't want a cure, and disability isn't this thing that should be seen as a taboo, because I was so scared, because I saw no one else around me living an amazing life with blindness. But when you know about it, it is so less scary. I think people are shocked when I say to them now, like, I love being blind. I actively adore my life. I don't hope for a cure anymore, like I live for today. And I think that is the biggest gift that my blindness has given me.”
In March this year Lucy also released a groundbreaking book, Blind Not Broken. It features Braille on its cover and integrates NaviLens technology, ensuring accessibility for all readers. This initiative is driven by Lucy's passion for making literature accessible, a desire rooted in her childhood experiences.
Lucy's life motto, "Blind Not Broken," encapsulates her philosophy and her unwavering commitment to change.
The host Alex Legouix picks Lucy up from her front door in the royal town of Sutton Coldfield alongside her guide dog Miss Molly, who also goes along for the ride in a 2008 red Volvo Estate as they record this interview.