The night Frank Ficarra learned his son, Matt, had broken his neck after a freak boating accident in 2011, he was devastated.

"He wasn't given a very good prognosis then, and when he was lying in that hospital bed, I wasn't sure he would ever improve,'' Frank Ficarra said. "I didn't think he'd ever be able to live on his own again."

It took months of hard work for Matt Ficarra, now 30, to learn how to dress himself and use a fork, his dad said. "He promised me then he would somehow walk again," recalled Frank Ficarra.

Saturday night, Matt Ficarra achieved that goal. He walked down the aisle at his wedding with his new wife Jordan Basile, 27. He was aided by a high-tech robotic device called an Ekso, which straps to his body and allows him to walk and stand for short periods.

The Baldwinsville man broke his neck and was paralyzed from the neck down after the 2011 boating accident when he jumped off the boat not realizing he was in shallow water. In the three years since then, he's spent many long hours in rehabilitation and physical therapy to re-learn many basic life skills such as eating and dressing.

When Matt Ficarra got engaged in December, he told his father and fiancee he would not roll the down the aisle in a wheelchair at his wedding.

"I told myself that I would walk with my bride down the aisle,'' Matt Ficarra said.

Ficarra has driven seven hours each week to and from the Good Shepherd Rehabiltation Network in Allentown, Pa. to practice with the Ekso. At first, he could walk only a few steps, but he progressed to the point that he would walk a mile.

Good Shepherd therapists transported the Ekso to Syracuse for the rehearsal Friday night, and then strapped Ficarra into the device Saturday night for the 5:30 p.m. wedding at the Doubletree Hotel in East Syracuse.

Ficarra walked into the hotel ballroom alongside his dad to applause. He then stood during the vows, exchange of rings, proclamation of husband and wife and the first kiss as a married couple. He then turned and walked down the aisle with his new wife beside him. Behind him were two physical therapists who walk behind him just to make sure he was safe.

Family and friends clapped, tears flowed and cameras recorded the special moment. Matt and Jordan Ficarra then stood for photos before Ficarra's Ekso was taken off and he returned to his wheelchair.

The couple flew out this morning to Sandals in Jamaica for a week-long honeymoon.

"I'm so happy to be married,'' Matt Ficarra said.

His dad, Frank, also is happy for his son - and so very proud.

"He pushed himself and he worked hard,'' Frank Ficarra said. "He doesn't give up on anything."

To help Ficarra buy an Ekso for himself, go to his You Caring site.