Connecticut couple wed in the NICU where their premature daughter was treated

A Connecticut couple tied the knot in a heartwarming ceremony held in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where their premature daughter was treated for more than 100 days. 

Grier Stanley, 37, and Jason Barnwell, 36, from New London, said ‘I do’ in front of their daughter Drue and her caregivers at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital on August 3, after their wedding was pushed back twice following their baby girl’s early arrival. 

‘Drue gave us a smile at the end,’ the new mom told Today. ‘She was smiling probably because it was her plan.’ 

Baby Drue, who was born two months early, was dressed in a blush-colored dress and a flower crown for her parents wedding in the NICU 

Stanley was just 28 weeks pregnant when she headed to the hospital with stomach pains on April 21. She didn’t think she was in labor until she was told she was already 6 centimeters dilated. She gave birth to Drue about two hours later. 

The couple’s daughter, who weighed just 2 pounds when she was born, needed to be intubated and received a blood transfusion. 

‘The first 12 hours were really really rough,’ Stanley recalled. ‘It’s just a helpless feeling and we are both protectors and doers and fixers and this was really a crazy curveball to not to be really able to do anything.’

Amid their concerns for their newborn daughter, they also had to reach out to the church’s rector and photographer to explain that they needed to postpone their wedding. 

The couple had to push back their wedding twice while their daughter was in the hospital, prompting a nurse to suggest they have their wedding in the NICU

Drue was extubated within 24 hours, but she struggled to breathe at times. Doctors said she would need to stay in the NICU for at least eight to ten weeks.  

When Stanley and Barnwell were ready to get married, they had to reschedule again after learning their rector had become ill. 

They were trying to figure out when they should get married when a staffer suggested they have the ceremony in the NICU.  

‘The plan for the wedding, it was brought up by a nurse and she’s like, “Oh well, you guys should just get married here,” because she knew what had happened with Drue coming early,’ Barnwell told Today. ‘We laughed it off like, “Are you serious?” But she took it to another level. 

The new dad donned a navy suit and bowtie for the occasion, while Stanley wore a cream lace duster over a white pantsuit. She topped off her wedding look with a crown that her aunt Marty wore at her own wedding several decades ago. 

Stanley and Barnwell were treated to a small wedding cake and bottles of sparkling juice while celebrating with the NICU staffers who had been caring for their daughter 

After more than 100 days in the hospital, Drue was given the clear to go home on August 5, which also happened to be her mother’s birthday

Baby Drue, who was able to take part in the ceremony, looked precious in a tiny blush-colored dress and a flower crown on her head. Stanley carried her in a wrap on her chest as they exchanged vows. 

After they were declared husband and wife, they were treated to a small wedding cake and bottles of sparkling juice to celebrate with the NICU staffers.  

Stanley explained that their family didn’t know they were getting married, so they kept a video journal of their big day to share with them. 

Two days later, Drue was given the clear to go home on August 5 — her mom’s birthday — to the delight of her parents. 

Barnwell shared that the time he and Stanley spent in the NICU with their daughter brought them closer than ever before.  

‘We love each other even more,’ he said. ‘It’s like “Wow, look how far we have come. Look how far Drue has come.” All those emotions are catching up [to us]. It’s like, “Wow look at what we did, look how strong we were as a family, all of us together.”‘