Everyone recalls that disaster of a Unite the Right march in Charlottesville, Va., last year, when a raging white supremacist used the tried-and-true terror tactic of driving a moving vehicle into a crowd of people, throwing one person up into the air and eventually killing another.
What many may not know is that the man who was hit, Marcus Martin, pushed his fiancee, Marissa Blair, out of the way seconds before the gray Dodge accelerated toward the crowd, perhaps saving her life on that terrible Aug. 12 day.
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Martin, whose body flying into the air, feet up, gave us one of the dayβs most iconic photos, suffered a broken leg in that attack. Now healed, he married Blair on Saturday.
At no cost.
CNN reports that more than 30 vendors offered their services gratis, giving the couple their dream wedding.
The ceremony was an avalanche of purple, the favorite color of the coupleβs friend Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old who died from her injuries at the march.
βWithout Heather, this wouldnβt be possible; and if Heather was still here, Heather would definitely be here on the front row,β said Blair.
During the ceremony, Heyerβs mother, Susan Bro, led the crowd in a butterfly release in remembrance of her daughter, noting, βSheβs watching over those that she loves, and that includes Marcus and Marissa.β
Although they lost a dear friend in the Charlottesville attack, the couple remain grateful for all of the support they received during the ceremony, including a dress, venue, wedding planner and florals.
βIt proves hate wonβt win, and it proves that there are more good people in the world than there are bad,β said Blair. βAnd that love will win.β
The βmanβ charged with killing Heyer and injuring Martin and 34 others, James Alex Fields Jr., has been charged with first-degree murder. He faces life in prison.
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