77-Year-Old Woman Marries Herself To Have The 'Big Wedding' Of Her Dreams

A 77-year-old woman, who always dreamed of having a big wedding, celebrated self-love by marrying herself in the company of her friends and family in Ohio.

Dorothy "Dottie" Fideli walked down the aisle Saturday at her retirement home after getting the idea from her neighbors, who saw another woman marrying herself on a talk show.

" ... This is something I've always wanted. I wanted to get married and have a happy life but things didn't work out that way and now I have a second chance in doing something that'll make me happy," Fideli told WLWT.

The resident at the O'Bannon Terrace Retirement Home in Goshen said "love is the most important thing."

"If you love God and love yourself, this world will be a field of roses," she added.

Fideli was once married in 1965, but the marriage only lasted for 9 years before she and her ex-husband got a divorce. "I wore a black dress, so I was doomed before I got started," she said.

Fideli said she and her ex-husband did not have a formal wedding when they got married. After exchanging vows at the justice of the peace, her husband went to work and she went home, Fideli added.

Although her marriage ended in divorce, Fideli still wished to have a "big wedding" someday. And with some help from her daughter and the people at her retirement home, Fideli realized it wasn't too late to have the wedding of her dreams.

"I said, you know what, I've done everything else. Why not? I'm going to marry myself," Fideli told TODAY.com.

Rob Geiger, the property manager of her retirement home, was more than happy to perform the wedding ceremony when Fideli asked him to. "I came in here and I told Rob, I said, 'Rob, you're going to marry me,'" Fideli said. "He said, 'You're what?'"

Geiger said he was glad to help a woman who is always making the people around her happy. "She is a very incredible woman and she is full of life," he told the outlet. "She has always thought of others."

On the wedding day, Fideli wore a wedding dress that had sheer long sleeves with floral detailing and a veil with an embellished headband. Loved ones and residents at the retirement home gathered in the community room to watch the emotional and symbolic ceremony take place.

"I told my daughter, I said, 'This is the best thing that I've ever had, outside of having you kids,'" Fideli added. "'This is what I've always wanted and I'm so happy that you (gave) it to me.'"

Fideli said she has reached that phase of her life where she can finally fulfill her own dreams.

"I'm at the point in my life where it's about me now," she told the outlet. "My kids are all good, and my grandkids, one of them's going to have a baby ... and I have a set of triplets that's all graduated from college. So, it's my turn to do what I want to do."