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For years Linda Bauch has carried a dream close to her heart: to be a bride.
Through the decades, Bauch, who is 72, held on to that dream while watching her three siblings walk down the aisle, followed some years later by several nieces and nephews.
Bauch lives with Down syndrome. When she was growing up more than half a century ago, marriage was not seen as something that could be done by people living with special needs.
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Despite this — or maybe because of it — Bauch continued to dream her dream through her years of working at what is now called ImagineAbility, through retirement, and now as a senior citizen.
But earlier this year, Bauch’s loving caregivers at L’Arche Winnipeg decided it was time to turn the woman’s dream into reality.
Petra Nolan and Rayleen Scott spent six months planning the wedding of Bauch’s dreams, culminating in a ceremony this past summer. They even served as Bauch’s bridesmaids.
“She was so happy and so thrilled,” Nolan said on Monday. “It was just a dream come true.”
With Bauch’s full participation in the planning, they found the venue — the hall at Saint Martyrs-Canadiens Paroisse — they sent out invitations, they picked the menu and chose a caterer, they booked a band, and they even got two bouquets.
“She needed one to keep and one to throw,” Nolan said. “She threw the bouquet to all the single women there.”
As for the menu, Bauch chose her favourite meal: spaghetti and meatballs.
“We catered it from Santa Lucia. Her favourite food is spaghetti and meatballs so we all had it,” Nolan said.
The dress was donated and Bauch went to a tailor a couple of times for alterations.
In fact there was really only one thing missing: a groom. But that was okay, because in the end, Bauch didn’t need a groom; it was enough to be the bride.
“When she was younger she would always say she had one or two boyfriends,” Nolan said.
“When she retired she lost track of the men, but she continued to hold onto her dream. A lot of people with disabilities have a dream of being married. They want to have the normal life. They see others getting married, family, nieces and nephews, and they feel they have to do it too.
“A year ago, knowing she is aging, we just felt we needed to fulfill this dream of hers.”
The pair even made sure they had a photographer, who takes photos at many weddings, to capture Bauch’s wedding. Bauch takes her wedding photo album wherever she goes, showing it to the employees at the stores she has long shopped in.
“You can see it in the photos – her smile and joy just radiate out,” Nolan said.
“One of our past community leaders led the ceremony and he spoke about her, who she is as a person, and how she always dreamed of having this day. Linda was listening and always nodding and, at the end, he said you are an incredible woman and your dream is here and you’re here with community and she said ‘I do’. I guess she has always seen it happen that way.”
Bauch even became emotional, smiling as tears ran down her face, when she took the microphone to sing her favourite song, “You Are My Sunshine”, to the 98 guests who shared her special day. And Nolan said Bauch repeatedly said thank you to both her and Scott – as well as all the guests who attended.
It’s not everyday that a person can get something they have wished so hard to have. Even if it is something they have wanted just about every day of their lives.
Thankfully, there are angels in our community and two of them work at L’Arche Winnipeg.
And thanks to them, Bauch’s dream came true and she had her wedding day.
– Kevin Rollason
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