Mark Desy, who is paralyzed from the neck down as the result of a construction accident, and his bride-to-be, Vicki Wood, listen to Rev. Tom Burdette as he reads their wedding vows Wednesday afternoon inside the University of Michigan's Medical Center Chapel.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

After her long-time boyfriend was severely injured in a construction accident in June, Vicki Wood vowed she would marry him if he survived.

On Wednesday, Wood kept that promise as her father escorted her into a small chapel at the University of Michigan Hospitals where Mark Dèsy, dressed in a suit and tie, beamed with happiness as he waited in a specially equipped wheelchair.

As the couple exchanged vows, tears came to the groom’s eyes, and his new bride bent down and wiped them away.

But there were mostly happy smiles among the family, friends, patients and hospital staffers who gathered to celebrate the couple’s marriage.

It had been a long road getting there — 15 years of dating and then the accident three months ago at a Chelsea work site that nearly took Mark’s life and left him a quadriplegic.

"This guy has had a smile on his face all day long," staff chaplain Rev. Tom Burdette, who performed the ceremony, told the gathering.

Vicki Dèsy wipes tears from the eyes of her new husband, Mark, during the couple's wedding ceremony Wednesday at University of Michigan Hospitals.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

"From the minute he became a patient here, Vicki has been a constant support to him, encouraging, just a constant companion for him," he added. "Even before we knew Mark was going to survive, Vicki said, 'If we get him through this, I'm marrying that man.'"

The ceremony was followed by a reception in a lounge in the rehabilitation unit where Mark is a patient. After mingling with guests and trying a bite of wedding cake, Mark Dèsy said he felt wonderful.

Larry Dèsy, father of the groom, said he was proud of his son.

"It took a lot to get to this point. Now that he's gotten through the hard stuff, this is good," Larry Dèsy said. "They've been talking about (getting married) for a long time and it just seemed like a good time to do it."

Vicki Dèsy recalled how the couple became engaged after 15 years of dating, and after Mark Dèsy was injured.

"He was chemically paralyzed ... and when he woke up, I said, 'You realize you're marrying me now, right?'" Vicki recalled, with a laugh. "And then about a week and a half ago, he formally asked me to marry him."

Gina Bullen of Hartland and Katie Steele of Novi — both patients at the hospital — helped prepare food and decorations for the reception.

"It's nice to see some happy tears around here," Steele said after the ceremony.

Bullen added, "I just wish them well, forever. Happiness."

Vicki Dèsy said she and Mark Dèsy are looking for a house near Jackson.

"I just can't wait to start a life with him," she said.

Heather Lockwood is a reporter for AnnArbor.com, reach her at heatherlockwood@annarbor.com or follow her on Twitter.