Bride asks grandad, 95, to be 'flower boy' at her wedding

A 95-year-old man proudly walked down the aisle at his granddaughter's wedding after she asked him to be “flower grandad".

Bert Edlin took on the honour at his granddaughter Rachel Powell’s nuptials in May after almost dying last year.

A fall in February 2022 left him needing to be resuscitated when his airways became blocked and doctors warned he may not survive and if he did, he wouldn't be able to walk, talk or even eat again.

To motivate him to get back to full fitness, Rachel, 29, told him she wanted him to be her flower grandad at her upcoming wedding instead of a typical flower girl.

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Despite his prognosis, Bert made an amazing recovery and helped his granddaughter down the aisle when she wed her partner, Andy Powell, 29.

His role was to scatter flower petals on the floor before Rachel made her grand entrance.

Bert said: "Believe anything is possible. I can't believe I got to watch my granddaughter get married.

"You see, I am still here, I got to make the wedding - that is the main thing."

Rachel, from Milton Keynes, added: "I believed he would get better, and it was during that when I said I wanted to honour him and make him feel really special.

"I asked him to be my flower grandad - that was such a big part of his recovery.

"He was still unable to talk at that point, but he wrote a note that said: 'I will make it to your wedding'."

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Shortly after Rachel got engaged in December 2021, her grandad had a fall which led him to develop vocal cord palsy - a voice disorder that occurs when the vocal folds don't open or close properly.

Doctors told Rachel and her family Bert might not make it and even if he did, he would not be able to walk or talk.

After having a tracheotomy fitted - a surgical airway management procedure - Bert was motivated to make it to Rachel's wedding.

She added: "He was so excited when we first asked him, he didn't understand what it was, but we explained it to him, and he was very much ready for the role.

"He makes everyone so happy - he is always the first on the dance floor.

"He loves to make people laugh and smile."

As well as having a flower grandad, Rachel wrote poems for all of her guests and had a flash mob down the aisle.