Paralympian Chuck Aoki Marries Liz Gregory in Whimsical Christmas-Themed Ceremony in Minneapolis
Lauren Kirkbride Photography
Liz Gregory didn't believe in love at first sight, until she met Paralympian Chuck Aoki.
But it wasn't her who fell head over heels with Aoki at first glance, it was her dog, Ellie Mae. "From the moment that she met him, she was obsessed with him," says Gregory. "When I saw that, I was like, 'Okay, it exists!'"
Aoki and Gregory exchanged vows Dec. 17 in a Christmas-themed winter wonderland ceremony at a "very old, gorgeous, ginormous" Minneapolis church.
Lauren Kirkbride Photography
While they didn't initially plan on marrying there, "We went in and as I was looking around the pastor walks up and says, 'Was that Charlie Aoki?'" recalls Gregory. "It turns out she was his childhood pastor."
The woman had been following Aoki's career as a Paralympian from afar. "I really hadn't seen her since I was a little kid and I'd been to three Paralympics since then, but she'd watched all my games," he says, adding, it was "one of those really cool moments" where they "just knew" the venue was perfect for their wedding. "It was kismet to a degree."
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Much of the couple's love story is kismet. When they first met in 2017 at a wheelchair rugby tournament in Phoenix, Gregory was based in Texas working in equipment management for the sport, and Aoki was playing for a team in Minnesota.
"After one of my games, I was going back to the storage area and this girl goes, 'Hey, good game,'" Aoki recalls.
The next night, a group from the tournament went out for drinks, where Gregory intended to meet someone else for a date. "Her date went poorly, and we ended up just hanging out that night for a long time. We've talked every day since that day," Aoki shares with a smile.
Lauren Kirkbride Photography
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Gregory says she first fell for Aoki because of his kind character and sense of humor. "I thought he was really, really sweet and really funny."
She continues: "I remember the main word that I used to describe him from the first day we met, and to this day, that word still comes to mind first – charming. I was charmed."
Although she worked for the same league that Aoki competed in, Gregory didn't know him before they met.
Lauren Kirkbride Photography
"I was really less into the sport and more into the camaraderie, the community, a space for disabled people to have their own little world," she says.
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Wheelchair rugby is far more significant to the newlyweds than just the tie that brought them together. "I actually used to use a wheelchair," Gregory explains. "I no longer do, but I have a neurological disease called Dysautonomia, and so I used a wheelchair for a couple years in high school."
Lauren Kirkbride Photography
During a gap year, she focused on physical therapy "full-time for about a year-ish." As she was "starting to become more mobile," a poster for a wheelchair rugby tournament caught her eye. "I went sort of as an afterthought because I was in the area," says Gregory, who adds that she showed up to her first meeting with the team wearing Cookie Monster pajamas.
"I fell completely in love with the sport and asked the Houston team if I could come work with them," she says. At the time, she "didn't know a soul in Houston" except for her brother. The wheelchair rugby team quickly became "an instant family" for her. "They became the most important people in my life really, really quickly."
Gregory says she "hadn't really thought about disabled identity," before finding the sport. "So for me, wheelchair rugby was this really subversive radical space where they were defying all of the norms associated with disability," which gave her "a place to explore that identity."
Lauren Kirkbride Photography
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Now, she's "permanently grateful" to the sport and community that "has been a really, really huge, really transformative aspect of my life." Wheelchair rugby not only introduced her to her husband – but it also inspired her current career trajectory. She completed four years of disability studies and is now becoming a social worker."
Aoki admits that his bride took the lead on planning their big day, but he also believes he's earned a little credit after a comment their wedding planner made leading up to the ceremony. "I'm quoting our wedding planner verbatim when I say this, I have done more than any other groom, so I like to think I've been involved to a decent degree," he jokes. "But Liz definitely had the vision for it."
Lauren Kirkbride Photography
Christmas is Gregory's favorite time of the year, when "everything is just so magical and whimsical," she says. "So why not just have that kind of whimsical, happy energy around your wedding?"
Now that they're married, Aoki and Gregory both look forward to "having a permanent partner" and giving their relationship a stronger title. "What our relationship is, is just beyond a girlfriend or boyfriend," says Aoki.
