A newly married woman travelled 200 miles to see her grandfather in his care home as he couldn’t make the wedding due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Alex Pearce, 36, drove for three hours in her wedding dress so she could have a glass of champagne and a slice of cake with her granddad – all through a perspex screen.
Her 87-year-old grandad, Graham Burley, has Parkinson’s disease and when he saw Alex in her wedding dress, he burst into tears.
Mrs Pearce, who is a facial surgeon at King’s College Hospital in London, married her 41-year-old husband Phillip on 29 August.
Credit: Solent
Their wedding took place in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, but they could only have 30 guests attend because of Covid-19 restrictions.
Alex said: “It was just too high risk for him to come to the wedding, and it would have affected the whole nursing home, so we thought it would be nice to pop in and visit him.
“I drove down from London and picked up my husband in Shepton Mallet before driving on to my parent’s home in Lymington, where we got changed into all our wedding gear again.
“When we turned up at the care home it was a complete surprise for Grandad, but obviously the staff knew about it.
“He burst into tears as soon as he saw us. It was incredibly special to visit him.”
So that they could visit Graham, the couple had to have their temperatures taken and remain behind the clear screen.
Graham, who lives at Court Lodge Care Home, Hants, was able to chat to them through the screen and he looked at the photos they had taken on their special day.
Credit: Solent News
They were there for about 20 minutes reliving the day with him.
Mrs Pearce, who lives in Brixton, south London, said: “Grandad has had Parkinson’s for the last 15 years, and has needed full time care since Grandma died some years ago.”
He and his wife Brenda Burley were married for over 60 years, and he still keeps his diamond anniversary card from the Queen by his bed.
Mr Burley, who worked as a manager at a builders’ merchant, said: “It was very emotional and I did shed a few tears.
“It meant so much to get to see Alex in the beautiful white wedding dress she wore on her special day.”
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