A groom who relies on a wheelchair stunned his wedding guests when he was able to stand for his first dance with his bride after undergoing a year of physiotherapy.
Barry MacDowell, 49, and his new wife, Emma, 36 both have Multiple Sclerosis and met on a MS support platform and bonded over their similar sense of humour.
In 2021 dad-of-three Barry - who has used a wheelchair since 2018 - proposed and the couple began planning their big day.
Determined to stand for their first dance, Barry started physiotherapy to help him learn to stand so he and Emma could dance.
When the medley of Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran and Shut Up And Dance by Walk the Moon started playing he shocked the room when he stood up.
He managed to continue on his own two feet for the entire dance lasting 90 seconds - beating his record for standing up.
Barry said: “The dance was amazing.
"My legs were sore for two and a half weeks after the wedding, but it was worth it of course.
"Every day now I've got earbuds in, and I sit and watch our wedding video.
"I love it, I just can't stop watching it."
The couple enlisted the help of Move4ward - an organisation specialising in neuro-physiotherapy and rehabilitation ahead of their big day on April 8.
Over countless sessions practising walking on parallel bars and a zero-gravity treadmill, Barry's progress was slow but steady.
They tried to get him vertical using leg braces but it was too painful, so the plan was for Dave and Jude from Move4ward to hold him up for the dance.
Emma, a former hairdresser, added: "It was amazing to dance with him, although, the whole time I was worried he was about to headbutt me.
"Because of that, I would always have to be behind him pushing him, because at the start he couldn't self-propel.
"So that dance was a different type of closeness. Until then, I never even knew he was taller than me.
"Now it's done, it doesn't feel real - I want to do it again."
Barry was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) in 2015 - after waiting over a decade for a diagnosis.
The delay meant he wasn't able to get the right treatment for a long time - meaning the condition became more severe, leading to him becoming reliant on a wheelchair.
Emma has the same condition - after being diagnosed following a bout of meningitis aged 29.
But due to a speedy diagnosis in 2016 she could be treated sooner so she is able to walk, although suffers from a number of ailments.
Move4ward's Dave Powney added: "We loved [Barry's] attitude and determination and were only too pleased to help him.
"Initially we practised with Barry standing weightless in our Alter-G Anti-Gravity treadmill.
“We managed to achieve his first independent stand with us just a few days prior to the wedding.
"On the day, myself and my colleague Jude Simms simply assisted Barry to stand and then dance with Emma, at this point there wasn't a dry eye in the house.”
