"You can't predict the emotions you're going to have — the excitement, the adrenaline, everything," she said. Despite the physical difficulty, McConkey expressed complete satisfaction with her achievement.
"It's not the prettiest thing ever, but it was perfect for me, and I did it, and that's all that matters."
The bride recalled experiencing a mixture of humor and deep emotion as she moved toward the altar alongside her relatives.
"Everybody was crying, everybody was just looking at me.
I had my dad on one side and my brother on the other, just for support, I was just overwhelmed.
I was laughing, I was crying, I was awkwardly making jokes because that's just who I am. It was great."
A groomsman later revealed that seeing her in the wedding gown during the formal entrance intensified the emotional impact.
"He's like, 'When the door opened and the music played and we saw you in the dress, we lost it,'" McConkey said.
The emotional impact extended across the entire venue. "There wasn't even a dry eye in the room."
Her husband, Brandon Goodrich, 38, had previously seen a preview of the walk during a rehearsal the prior evening but wept during the official ceremony.
"I cried," Goodrich said. "All the groomsmen behind me cried."
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The groom expressed deep appreciation for the medical technology and rehabilitation efforts. "She said she was going to do it, and she did it.
And I guess I was just thankful enough that there was something out there that could help us make that happen."
The couple has been in a relationship for approximately five and a half years. Goodrich serves as a stepfather to McConkey's children.
"That's their father figure, and for them to see me marry their dad and for me to push to walk down the aisle, it was huge," McConkey said.
Later in the evening, the couple completed their first dance to Brantley Gilbert's "Fall Into Me" while standing and swaying.
"I didn't get to move around very much, but I was able to stand and I was able to do the sway and all of that.
By the end of the night, I was a little worn out, but for the father-daughter dance my sister stepped in for me.
So, it was beautiful."
McConkey intends to sustain her long-term rehabilitation efforts with a physical therapist based in Colorado Springs. "This is just the beginning for me," she said.
Her ongoing motivation stems from her familial responsibilities. "I have three kids and I'm not giving up.
I'm going to walk."
McConkey maintains a positive outlook on her condition and focuses on the daily needs of her young children.
"I'm doing it for me. I've always said that it could always be worse.
I can't look at a mess and be like, 'Okay, this is what it is.' Like, I have little kids.
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They need me."
