A bride had a very special surprise for her dad on her wedding day that ended in an emotional moment between the two before he walked her down the aisle. In a video shared to her Instagram, Grace Mixon tied the knot to her husband, Brandon, in September 2024 but wanted to still incorporate her late mother in the ceremony.
Deciding to wear something of hers for the big day, Grace managed to surprise her dad, Chad Mixon, with the unique item. The exchange, caught on camera, was both heartwarming and emotional as Grace shocked her dad into crying tears of both joy and melancholy.
Her dad started sobbing when he realized what his daughter was wearing on her wedding day.
In the short clip of Grace approaching her dad moments before walking down the aisle, which was captured by Maclin Photo and Film, she tapped Chad on the shoulder, whose back was turned to her for the surprise. As he turned around, his face immediately crumbled as he took a look at the dress that Grace was wearing.
Grace was wearing the same dress that her late mother had worn on her wedding day. The two of them embraced as Grace, 24, assured her dad that he had “nothing to worry about.”Â
“I love you so much. You look so gorgeous,” he replied through a stream of tears as he hugged his daughter close. “Is that mom’s dress?” he questioned, adding, “You look just like her.”
The bride recreated a very special photo during her own wedding ceremony.
To make things even more emotional, Grace’s late mother had taken a photo with her father, Grace’s grandfather, on the day of her wedding.Â
And over two-and-a-half decades later, Grace recreated the exact photo, in the same dress, with her own father. It was a keepsake moment that will be treasured for generations.
The two embraced each other as they happily looked into the camera.Â
Despite her mother’s physical presence missing from such a special and heartwarming day, Grace refused to forget about including her spirit.
In fact, wearing the dress at all, was not in Grace’s initial plan, but it seemed like her mom stepped in to lead her to the decision.
The bride explained that she initially hadn’t planned on wearing her mom’s wedding dress.
In an interview with Good Morning America, Grace admitted that she hadn’t thought about wearing her mother’s wedding dress after she passed away in 2022. Grace’s parents had initially married in 1997.
“I never in my wildest dreams thought it would be in my near future,” Grace told the publication.Â
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At first, she’d tried on a wedding dress that she didn’t quite feel comfortable in, so she decided to give her mom’s wedding dress a try. “[I] ended up trying on my mother’s dress at my grandparent’s house and it fit me like an absolute glove.”
She continued, “There was no alteration needed or anything like that. And so I was like, ‘I’m just gonna take this as a sign as maybe I should just honor her this way.'”Â
Once she decided to wear her mother’s dress, Grace didn’t tell many people about it, including her husband-to-be and dad.
“I was more nervous for my father’s first look than I was [for my first look with] my husband,” she recalled. “It was just such an amazing moment that I would never trade for the world. That moment will never top any other moment in my life, I don’t think, especially with him. It was one of the best decisions. I would not redo it any other way.”
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
