Beirut: Alya Al Chamaa fell in love with her wheel-chaired friend 10 years ago, and it was really hard to convince her parents to give her wedding plans the go-ahead. But last Saturday, her love story blossomed into a fairytale wedding.
A video of the Lebanese bride dancing with joy, love and passion in front of a wheelchair-bound groom Jamal Bachacha at their wedding went viral on social media platforms.
Thousands of Lebanese well-wishers shared it with tons of congratulatory and celebratory words, lauding ‘true and honest love’.
Speaking to Gulf News from her honeymoon, Alya said she and Jamal had met while on a holiday during in 2009.
“We are both from Barja [a town village in Lebanon’s Chouf District]. We met during a trip in the Eid holidays. We chatted and became friends. We fell in love and that was how it started. The biggest obstacle we faced was my parents, who had rejected the match … and they kept on rejecting for years until they finally [gave their] approval”.
Alya and Jamal got engaged in May 2015 and their wedding ceremony took place on September 7 this year.
In response to requests by her friends and supporters, Alya shared her wedding dance video on her Facebook timeline and commented: “I’m not sharing this to become famous but because it is every bride’s dream to dance in her own wedding day. I am sharing this dance to prove and show others that despite Jamal’s disability, he did not deprive me of this joy.”
Lebanese music diva Elissa shared the video on Twitter, saying she was touched by their wedding dance that “clearly shows how much love unites them”.
“God bless them and their love with which they overcame all difficulties, and that is a true lesson in love,” tweeted Elissa.
On Sunday, Alya posted a comment saying: “I thank everybody who shared with me this moment that I had been waiting for 10 years with my life partner Jamal. I love all those who supported me, especially my parents, who had refused in the beginning until they got introduced to Jamal and realised that he’s an awesome guy and will make my life happy.”
