Wedding celebration at Oakland school for future Marine

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A very special yet unusual event took place at an East Bay school Friday afternoon.

Two graduates of Oakland Unified went back to school to tie the knot.

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A crowd gathered on the campus of Oakland's Dewey Academy -- not for a graduation, but for a wedding celebration.

Recent graduate AJ Collins saw his bride, Patrice Treadwell, walk down the aisle in what was a surprise for them both. "We didn't know what they were going to do, we didn't know how many people were going to be here," Treadwell said. "We thought we were going to be in the cafeteria," added Collins.

The staff at Dewey pitched in money for the ceremony, knowing the huge sacrifice that lies ahead.

"His counselor just decided that he wanted to do something nice for us because I'm trying to go to the Marines," said Treadwell, who's about to embark on a career with the U.S. Marine Corps.

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A wedding certificate will ensure that they get family benefits. The couple has an infant daughter together, so while Treadwell is serving her country, Collins will watch after their baby, Amila.

"He's just a great person pretty much, he can take care of everything," said Treadwell of her husband. "I mean I have to give him some pointers and remind him of stuff, but other than that, he got it down."

While family and friends looked on during the ceremony, the high school principal served as the wedding officiant.

"We don't just release our students and graduate them and send them out to the world, we support them during school and after school and whatever support they need," said principal Darrell Ross.

Collins plans to stay home and take care of Amila while attending college. Treadwell says she'll enroll with the Marines next week and start basic training.

The couple has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for childcare while Treadwell is away and Collins is at school. Visit this page to make a donation.

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