Jaquie Goncher, 25, said she was especially determined to dance at her wedding, which "definitely sparked the initial drive to get back in the gym."
Every woman pictures walking down the aisle at her wedding, but this Georgia bride left her wedding guests awestruck as she left her wheelchair behind, despite once being paralyzed.
"I remember asking my mom if I was going to be in a wheelchair forever," said Jaquie Goncher of Marietta, who was just 17 years old when she broke her neck in an accident at a friend's swimming pool and was left paralyzed.
Now 25 and set to wed her longtime boyfriend, Goncher pushed her own limits to defy the odds and her medical expectations.
"I never accepted the doctor's reports," she told InsideEdition.com. She worked for years to become independent of her wheelchair — especially after she became engaged to Andy Goncher, her boyfriend of two years.
"I really wanted to enjoy my wedding without the wheelchair," she said.
Goncher said she was especially determined to dance at her wedding, which "definitely sparked the initial drive to get back in the gym," she said.
She kept her progress a secret from almost everyone except the wedding party, and when Goncher emerged from her chair to walk down the aisle on her own two feet, the entire audience was "very proud and shocked," said wedding photographer Alec Stanley, of Love Stories by Halie + Alec.
"Honestly, it's one of the most powerful things I've ever witnessed," Stanley said, though he photographs weddings nearly every weekend of the year.
But the bride told InsideEdition.com she was too nervous to even see her guests' reactions: "I was sick to my stomach with nerves and excitement. I looked down the entire time. I just remember thinking, 'This is it. I'm getting married!"
Read: Paralyzed Teen who Shocked Nurse by Walking is Getting Ready for the Prom
Excited by the big day, Goncher said she was on her feet for the entire reception except for a brief toast.
The bride danced so much, she even tore the fabric on her dress, Goncher told InsideEdition.com.
