Pregnant Bride Has Impromptu Hospital Wedding After Being Admitted with Serious Complications, Delivers Baby Hours Later
Pregnant Bride Has Impromptu Hospital Wedding After Being Admitted with Serious Complications, Delivers Baby Hours Later
Erin ClackThu, May 7, 2026 at 2:24 PM UTC
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Dixie Guesnard and Ryan Richard's hospital wedding
Credit: USA Health Children’s and Women’s Hospital
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A pregnant bride-to-be married her fiancé in an impromptu hospital wedding after being admitted with complications
Eleven hours later, she prematurely delivered a baby girl
“Our wedding anniversary and our daughter’s birthday are both on the same day. We better not forget that," the new mom joked
Expectant bride Dixie Guesnard was at a local courthouse preparing to tie the knot with her fiancé, Ryan Richard, when she received a call from her doctor advising her to go to the hospital right away.
The middle school teacher, who was just shy of 34 weeks pregnant, had been experiencing some symptoms, including swelling in her feet and elevated blood pressure, according to a Facebook post from Rick Karle's Good News, reshared by USA Health Children's & Women's Hospital in Alabama. As those symptoms can be warning signs of preeclampsia, a life-threatening hypertensive disorder, Guesnard was admitted to the Mobile-area hospital on April 30.
“I was told I wasn’t going anywhere until the baby was born,” recalled Guesnard, adding that doctors made a plan for her baby to be prematurely delivered the next day.
Still, Guesnard was determined to marry before her baby's arrival, so she and Richard decided to say "I do" at the hospital — with the help of some caring nurses.
Dixie Guesnard and Ryan Richard's hospital wedding
Credit: USA Health Children’s and Women’s Hospital
Whirlwind preparations for the impromptu ceremony, which would take place the morning of the birth, quickly got underway.
Nurses and other staff members, led by labor and delivery manager Kensi Duncan, decorated the mom-to-be's room with festive white paper garlands and string lights.
Dixie Guesnard and Ryan Richard's hospital wedding
Credit: USA Health Children’s and Women’s Hospital
In the gift shop, nurses procured a dress big enough to fit over all the tubes attached to Guesnard. A bouquet was purchased and, in a fun detail, ring pops were set aside for the couple's wedding bands.
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Dixie Guesnard and Ryan Richard's hospital wedding
Credit: USA Health Children’s and Women’s Hospital
Kim Crawford-Meeks, the hospital's chaplain, stepped in to officiate the wedding.
The ceremony, which was witnessed by hospital staff and the couple's families, lasted just 10 minutes. Then, Guesnard was whisked down a hallway in a wheelchair amid a sprinkling of confetti.
Dixie Guesnard and Ryan Richard's hospital wedding
Credit: USA Health Children’s and Women’s Hospital
Eleven hours later, at 10:01 p.m. on May 1, she delivered a baby girl, named Shelby Grace. The newborn weighed in at 4 lbs., 14 oz.
The newlywed parents are staying in the nearby Ronald McDonald House while Shelby remains in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Dixie Guesnard and Ryan Richard with hospital staff
Credit: USA Health Children’s and Women’s Hospital
Reflecting on celebrating two major life milestones mere hours apart, Guesnard said, “Our wedding anniversary and our daughter’s birthday are both on the same day."
“We better not forget that," she joked.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
