Just before the birth of their premature baby, a Utah couple was officially wedded in the same Orem hospital.
Being a couple since they were 14-years-old, Chelsea Mueller and Jeff Bradley had planned several dates for a wedding but never officially tied the knot. Their first wedding was planned for early 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed their date to July 2022. The two felt like they had always been married and that they didn’t need a piece of paper to make it official.
However, Mueller went into preterm labor on May 27. When her water broke, the couple decided to get married right there in the hospital as it was always part of their plan to become a legal family before the birth of their daughter.
The couple asked the staff at MountainStar Healthcare’s Timpanogos Regional Hospital to help them arrange a marriage at the facility that would take place on May 29. What they thought would be a bedside ceremony turned into a huge event as nurses transformed a hospital classroom into a fully decorated wedding chapel complete with cakes and sparkling cider provided by the kitchen staff. Loved ones of the couple attended the ceremony and for those who couldn’t, they joined virtually through FaceTime.
Jodi Bushdiecker, the lead chaplain at Timpanogos Regional Hospital, officiated the ceremony and said that many of the staff members felt the overall value of pulling this ceremony together and that they were dedicated to each and every human who came into their hospital.
Healthcare professionals pulled off the wedding ceremony all while keeping within hospital policies and protocols as well as ensuring safety of the patient.
Three days after the wedding on June 1, the newlyweds had welcomed their brand new daughter Rheya into the family. The couple were extremely grateful for the birth and safe arrival of their “rainbow baby” as they had previously gone through a miscarriage in 2018.
Because she was born premature, Rheya is currently in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, but she is getting stronger with each passing day. The newlywed couple say that Timpanogos Regional Hospital will hold a special place in their hearts as it was a place responsible for not one, but two of their most cherished memories.
