Groom Carries Bride Down the Aisle After Car Accident Breaks Her Pelvis in 3 Places

— -- Hannah Patterson was in what she described as a "serious car accident" this summer while headed to pick up her then fiance, Stuart Patterson.

"I broke my pelvis in three places, punctured my kidney, broke my ribs, [had a] concussion, [and had a] loss of partial hearing," Patterson said of the July 18 crash.

It didn't help that Patterson, 23, was in the final stages of planning her August 25 wedding, held at Cranberry Creek Gardens in Ontario, Canada. The accident was also hard on the bride-to-be's family because Patterson's mother lives in Northern Ireland, where the couple is originally from.

Because of the accident, Patterson had to walk down the aisle with the help of a wheelchair.

"Obviously, being in the wheelchair and not able to walk was very upsetting for me on my wedding day," she recalled, "but I had cried at the rehearsal so I didn't cry on the day."

It was at the rehearsal dinner before the wedding that Stuart, 25, decided to carry her down the aisle instead.

The moving gesture was caught by their wedding photographer, Sarah Powell, who posted the now viral photo to Facebook.

Because of her injuries, Patterson said, she sat during most of her wedding, but wanted to stand for one very important part.

"I was determined to stand for my vows," Patterson said, adding that she had to balance on one leg, while using her husband-to-be for support.

"It was hard on me to stand for that long even with Stuart holding me up," she continued, "but it doesn't seem obvious in the pictures and video the pain I was in."

Since her wedding, Patterson said she is making "a slow recovery."

"I am doing better," she added. "I am able to use a cane in the house now."

Although Patterson said the accident was "a very hard time in my life," she's happy to spend the rest of her life with her new husband.

"Stuart has never left my side during all of this," she said. "I know it has been hard on him to see me like this, but he was strong for both of us.

“He always made me see how blessed I was. ... I had to try to be thankful I was still there to get married."