For most brides, walking down the aisle on her wedding day is a given, but for Alissa Boyle, walking down the aisle on Sept. 7 was truly an amazing accomplishment.
      In Feb., 2012 Alissa sustained severe injuries when she and another nursing student, Cami Abernathy, students at Waynesburg State University, were on their way to clinicals at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Mount Morris, Pa. when they stopped to assist a man in a wrecked vehicle at 6:00 a.m. on Pennsylvania Interstate 79.
      They were forced to leap 40-feet from an overpass to avoid an oncoming semi-truck and in the process, Alissa was paralyzed. She was told by one doctor that she had a one percent chance of ever walking again.
      Just two days prior to that life altering day, Alissa, 23, and Nathan Grimes, 25, (a member of the United States Army with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan), were engaged to be married. She had her ‘Prince Charming,’ but what about the fairytale wedding in the face of such personal tragedy? Answering the call was Jamie’s Dream Team, a non-profit organization out of Pittsburgh, Pa. founded by Jamie Holmes.
      “For her to give up walking while helping a stranger, we had to help her,” said Kim Shidel of the organization. They recruited several local wedding vendors to make Alissa’s dream wedding come true including a reception at Avion on the Water catered by Global Cuisine by Gary Arabia, a high end catering and event production company based out of Hollywood, Calif. and ‘caterer to Hollywood’s elite,’ a horse and carriage from Best Horse Drawn Carriage Service, a wedding cake designed by Clarencedale Cakes, South Ave., Boardman; and even a photo booth from I Spy Photo Booth LLC.
      What would be the perfect ending to this fairytale wedding?
      A honeymoon of course! Following their reception at Avion, the newlyweds headed-off to an all-expense-paid trip for some well-deserved rest and relaxation at a cabin in Deer Creek, Md.
      Alissa and Nathan were married at Trinity Friends Church in Lisbon, where she walked down the aisle to meet her groom.
      “It was truly an inspiring moment when she walked down that aisle,” said Kristen Delvaux, who coordinated the wedding events.
      After the wedding and honeymoon, the newlyweds will relocate to Florida, where Grimes will be stationed at Eglin Air Force Base near Valparaiso.