'Bionic model' bride wows on her wedding day with a gold prosthetic arm
On our wedding day, we can only hope to look like the best version of ourselves.
For some, this might entail a professional teeth-whitening procedure or hiring a hair and makeup stylist.
But one bride’s feel-good move involved wearing a glittery gold bionic arm.
Rebekah Marine, 31, was born with Symbrachydactyly (or limb difference) and has always worn a black prosthetic arm.
But her wedding day called for something a bit more special.
“I knew when I got engaged that I wanted a wedding arm — I wanted to do something special,” said the New Jersey bride, who recently tied the knot with 32-year-old medical student Jared Paster.
“The whole point of wearing it was to draw attention to it,” she said of her gold arm. “I wanted people to see it and notice it because I am proud of where I am right now.
“Originally I had liked the idea of white, but I realized you might lose it with the white of my wedding dress. A friend suggested gold. … The challenge then was finding the right shade of gold because I didn’t want to look like C-3PO.
“It was a long process getting it right, but it’s such a cool piece. It’s really beautiful. It has sparkles … and it glistens in the sunlight.
“Growing up I feared marriage because I feared everyone looking at me, so it’s awesome to see how far I’ve come,” Marine added.
Marine is a motivational speaker and model who caught her big break at 22, when she was asked to walk at New York Fashion Week, shortly after she got a prosthetic arm.
She’s since starred in campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger and Nordstrom.
Marine says she grew up in a “bubble” and was never bullied for her condition, but as she got older people asked questions and she became insecure.
She says she’s now on a mission to spread a message of body positivity.
The gold limb was such a hit at the wedding that Marine wore it on the honeymoon.
“We just got back from our honeymoon and I wore the gold arm there,” she wrote on her Instagram.
“I would wear sunglasses and I could see everybody staring at me because they didn’t know I was looking at them,” Marine said. “It was cool to see people staring at it in awe.
“The gold arm makes me more approachable. It draws a lot more attention and the whole point of wearing it is to draw attention to it. I want people to ask questions and I want to educate people about it.
“We all can’t be Kim Kardashian, realistically, so we have to learn to embrace our uniqueness. It is so important to talk about the differences we all have.”
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
See the evolution of the prom dress from the 1940s to the 2000s
The most dazzling wedding dresses (and pantsuits) from Bridal Fashion Week
The supersweet reason this bride had 15 kids in her wedding
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